Asian stock markets are predominantly trading lower on Tuesday, influenced by mixed signals from Wall Street and trader hesitance ahead of key events later this week, notably the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting and the release of U.S. consumer price inflation data. Asian markets ended mixed on Monday.
The Federal Reserve is broadly anticipated to maintain current interest rates, but traders are expected to focus on the latest projections from Fed officials regarding the economy and future rates.
After gains in the previous three sessions, the Australian stock market has dipped sharply in post-holiday trading on Tuesday. This decline aligns with the mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is significantly below the 7,800 mark, led by notable weakness in gold mining stocks due to falling bullion prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 124.40 points, or 1.58 percent, to 7,735.60, after reaching a low of 7,735.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index has dropped 125.40 points, or 1.55 percent, to 7,987.40. Australian stocks had closed notably higher on Friday, ahead of Monday's holiday.
In major mining stocks, Rio Tinto is down nearly 1 percent, BHP Group has decreased by more than 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are each down nearly 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly up, with Woodside Energy and Beach Energy each gaining almost 1 percent, and Santos edging up 0.1 percent. Origin Energy is down nearly 1 percent.
Among technology stocks, Appen and Zip have each gained almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero have each edged down 0.4 percent. Block, the owner of Afterpay, has declined nearly 3 percent.
Gold mining stocks are mostly lower, with Gold Road Resources, Resolute Mining, and Evolution Mining each plunging nearly 7 percent. Newmont is down almost 3 percent, and Northern Star Resources has fallen more than 6 percent.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have both lost more than 1 percent, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking Group are each down nearly 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.659 on Tuesday.
Conversely, the Japanese stock market has seen modest gains on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 Index has moved well above the 39,100 level, supported by gains in heavyweight and technology stocks, though offset by declines in exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,155.16, up 117.00 points, or 0.30 percent, after reaching a high of 39,336.66 earlier. Japanese shares had closed significantly higher on Monday.
Among heavyweight stocks, SoftBank Group has edged down 0.4 percent and Fast Retailing remains flat. In the automotive sector, Honda has gained almost 1 percent and Toyota has edged up 0.5 percent.
In technology, Advantest has gained nearly 1 percent and Tokyo Electron has added almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings has edged down 0.2 percent.
Within the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down nearly 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial has edged down 0.5 percent, while Mizuho Financial has gained almost 1 percent.
Major exporters are mostly lower; Panasonic is down more than 1 percent, Sony has edged down 0.5 percent, and Mitsubishi Electric has declined almost 3 percent, while Canon has edged up 0.1 percent.
Among notable gainers, Furukawa Electric has climbed nearly 4 percent, while Taiyo Yuden, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, JGC Holdings, and Ebara have each added almost 3 percent.
Conversely, Eisai has fallen by more than 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan reported a 1.9 percent year-on-year increase in its M2 money stock for May, reaching 1,259.0 trillion yen, following a 2.2 percent rise in April. The M3 money stock rose by 1.3 percent year-on-year to 1,611.3 trillion yen, down from 1.6 percent in the previous month. The L money stock saw a 3.3 percent year-on-year increase to 2,182.8 trillion yen, accelerating from 2.7 percent in the prior month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 157 yen range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and China are down 1.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia have decreased between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. South Korea and Taiwan, however, are up by 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks showed little direction on Monday, extending the indecisive performance seen in the two previous sessions. The major averages oscillated across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly higher.Despite volatile trading, both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 achieved new record closing highs. The Nasdaq increased by 59.40 points, or 0.4%, to reach 17,192.53; the S&P 500 advanced by 13.80 points, or 0.3%, to settle at 5,360.79; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 69.05 points, or 0.2%, to end at 38,868.04.
Conversely, European markets experienced declines across the board. The French CAC 40 Index fell by 1.3%, the German DAX Index decreased by 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2%.
In commodity markets, crude oil prices surged on Monday, driven by optimism regarding energy demand prospects. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for July delivery rose by $2.21, or approximately 2.9%, closing at $77.74 per barrel.
