Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street overnight, amid intensifying geopolitical and tariff related tensions after US President Donald Trump's announcement of new 10 percent tariff on European countries starting February 1 and his plan to acquire Greenland. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Reports suggest that the EU is considering a retaliatory move that would place tariffs on 93 billion euros of U.S. goods or restrict U.S. firms' access to its internal market. If they do not support the U.S. on the acquisition of Greenland, the tariff may increase to 25% by June 1 if the stalemate continues until then.

France asking the EU to activate "a trade bazooka" which could block some of U.S. access to marketplaces in the EU as a countermeasure.

The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,850 level, with weakness across most sectors led by financial and mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 53.00 points or 0.60 percent to 8,821.50, after hitting a low of 8,812.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 54.80 points or 0.60 percent to 9,140.10. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is down almost 1 percent and Fortescue is edging down 0.5 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.2 percent, Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 3 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.2 percent and Appen is declining almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is gaining more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining more than 2 percent and Newmont is down almost 1 percent. Northern Star resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing more than 1 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are declining almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in ARB Corp. are diving more than 13 percent after the 4WD accessories giant released a half-year trading update, with revenues slipping and profit expected to fall.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are gaining almost 4 percent after China's drug regulator accepted a new drug application for TLX591-Px, its lead prostate cancer imaging agent sold as Illuccix.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 52,950 level, with weakness across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 52,931.11, down 652.46 points or 1.22 percent, after hitting a low of 52,876.24 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is flat and Toyota is losing almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is down 2.5 percent, Screen Holdings is edging down 0.3 percent and Advantest is losing almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.

The major exporters are weak. Panasonic is declining more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent, while Sony and Canon are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among the other major losers, Fuji Electric is tumbling more than 5 percent and Recruit Holdings is losing almost 5 percent, while Toray Industries, Mitsui Kinzoku and Sumitomo Pharma are declining almost 4 percent each. Olympus, Resonac Holdings, Fujikura and GS Yuasa are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nichirei is gaining almost 4 percent, while Ryohin Keikaku and Furukawa Electric are advancing more than 3 percent each. Aeon, SHIFT and Shiseido are adding almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157-yen range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.3 percent.

On Wall Street, the markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX lost 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.