Asian stock markets largely trended lower on Tuesday following some disappointing economic data from China, despite positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The expectation of a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in September continued to buoy sentiment. On Monday, Asian markets showed mixed performance.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at the Economic Club of Washington D.C., indicated that the central bank wouldn't wait for inflation to hit 2 percent before adjusting interest rates. Powell noted that central bank policies often have "long and variable lags," justifying why they wouldn't delay their actions until the inflation target is met.
In Australia, the stock market saw slight declines amid volatile trading on Tuesday, paring back gains from the previous three sessions despite upbeat cues from Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 hovered just above the 8,000 mark, with losses in iron ore miners and energy stocks due to weak commodity prices, almost offset by gains in technology and financial sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 7.60 points or 0.10 percent to 8,010.00, after an earlier low of 7,996.90. The broader All Ordinaries Index also dropped by 7.20 points or 0.09 percent to 8,255.20. Australian stocks had closed significantly higher on Monday.
In mining, BHP Group and Rio Tinto were down almost 2 percent each, with Fortescue Metals dropping nearly 1 percent and Mineral Resources falling more than 1 percent.
The oil sector showed mixed results. Woodside Energy and Santos edged down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach Energy and Origin Energy inched up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.
In technology, Zip rose nearly 2 percent, WiseTech Global slightly up by 0.3 percent, and Block, Afterpay’s owner, climbed more than 3 percent, while Xero slipped 0.3 percent. Appen remained stable.
Gold miners generally performed well. Northern Star Resources and Newmont increased by almost 1 percent each, Evolution Mining edged up 0.1 percent, while Gold Road Resources lost almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining remained flat.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac saw minor increases of 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, with National Australia Bank rising nearly 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.674.
The Japanese stock market rebounded modestly on Tuesday in a post-holiday session, with the Nikkei 225 climbing above 41,300, influenced by positive Wall Street cues and broad sectoral gains led by major index players and financial stocks.
The Nikkei 225 Index concluded the morning session up 209.04 points or 0.51 percent, at 41,399.72, after reaching a high of 41,520.07 earlier. Japanese shares had dropped sharply on Friday before the holiday on Monday.
SoftBank Group advanced over 1 percent, while Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's operator, declined almost 1 percent. Honda gained nearly 1 percent and Toyota edged up 0.5 percent in the automotive sector.
In tech, Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose nearly 1 percent each, with Screen Holdings adding 0.1 percent.
In banking, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial saw almost 2 percent gains, while Mizuho Financial increased almost 1 percent.
Major exporters generally performed better. Mitsubishi Electric grew nearly 2 percent, Canon added over 1 percent, Panasonic fell almost 2 percent, and Sony remained flat.
Striking gains included Taiyo Yuden soaring nearly 9 percent, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Alps Alpine surging almost 6 percent each, Murata Manufacturing and TDK growing over 5 percent each, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries adding nearly 5 percent. IHI increased over 4 percent, Fanuc nearly 4 percent, and NEC and Japan Steel Works rising more than 3 percent each. Hitachi, Komatsu, Daiwa Securities, MS&AD Insurance, and Marubeni also saw gains of nearly 3 percent each.
Conversely, Eisai dropped over 4 percent, and Shiseido declined almost 3 percent.
The US dollar traded in the higher 158 yen range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong declined by 1.3 percent. China, Singapore, and Indonesia fell by 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Taiwan and South Korea saw increases of 1.0 and 0.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand and Malaysia remained relatively flat.On Wall Street, stocks closed on a positive note on Monday, with two of the three major indices reaching new record highs. This surge was driven by robust buying activity across various sectors. The optimistic sentiment on Wall Street was bolstered by hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the increasing likelihood of former President Donald Trump winning the upcoming presidential elections.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 210.82 points, or 0.53%, to end at 40,211.72, after reaching a new intraday high of 40,351.10. The S&P 500 also achieved a new high of 5,666.94 before settling at 5,631.22, up by 15.87 points, or 0.28%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 74.12 points, or 0.4%, closing at 18,472.57, after hitting a peak of 18,641.53.
In contrast, major European markets experienced declines. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell by 0.85%, Germany’s DAX decreased by 0.84%, and France's CAC 40 lost 1.19%.
Crude oil prices closed lower on Monday, impacted by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for August declined by $0.30, settling at $81.91 per barrel.
