Asian Shares Retreat Amid Middle East Concerns

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended broadly lower in cautious trade on Wednesday as oil prices climbed and yields rebounded on fears Iran is stepping up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said there had been nine attacks so far this month, half the number it reported for all of September in the waterway and Persian Gulf combined.

In a statement on the social media platform X, Yemen's Houthi group claimed that it carried out a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports and military installations in Saudi Arabia.

Also, the Houthis denied being pushed back by government forces after Yemen's military said it had removed the pro-Iran group from areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait - a Red Sea chokepoint - and the port city of Mocha.

Technology stocks were in the spotlight after the Financial Times reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips.

Investors also awaited Samsung's third-quarter preliminary earnings for fresh signals on the strength of artificial intelligence-related chip demand.

The U.S. dollar held losses as stress in European bond markets abated and traders awaited the release of the Fed's September meeting minutes as well as speeches by Fed officials for additional clues on the path forward.

Gold fell almost 1 percent toward $4,100 an ounce, with inflationary risks and rate hike concerns in focus.

Brent crude futures rose about 1 percent toward $102 a barrel, extending gains from the previous session amid persistent risks to Middle East Energy flows.

Chinese markets remained closed for the National Day holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.62 percent to 24,130.50 after two days of gains. Technology stocks came under selling pressure, with artificial intelligence developer Minimax tumbling 4.6 percent and Alibaba losing 2.8 percent.

Japanese markets ended sharply lower as investors closely watched developments in the Middle East conflict and scaled back BOJ rate hike bets.

The Nikkei average fell 0.92 percent to 70,035.71, giving up early gains due to profit taking in AI and semiconductor-related names. The broader Topix index settled 0.70 percent lower at 4,154.11.

Among the prominent decliners, Disco Corp plummeted 6.3 percent, Kioxia Holdings slumped 4.5 percent, Tokyo Electron shed 2.4 percent and Advantest dipped 1.3 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower for a second consecutive session due to concerns over elevated bond yields that have climbed to multidecade highs. The Kospi index plunged 1.98 percent to 6,803.90, led by declines in technology shares.

While market bellwether Samsung Electronics dropped 1.3 percent ahead of its preliminary earnings report, its chip-making rival SK Hynix fell 2.8 percent.

Australian markets fluctuated before finishing marginally lower to end a three-day winning streak. While banks and mining stocks faced pressure, uranium stocks surged after the announcement of a major nuclear power agreement involving Google and Constellation Energy.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slipped 0.12 percent to 13,684.04.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as semiconductor chipmakers continued to benefit from a robust outlook and the 10-year yield pulled back from a 24-year high on data showing a wider than expected August trade deficit.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained half a percent and the S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to reach new record closing highs while the Dow advanced half a percent.