Asian stock markets displayed mixed performance on Wednesday, reflecting the uncertainty among traders following the ambiguous signals from Wall Street overnight. Investors are cautiously awaiting key US inflation data due later this week, which could influence future interest rate decisions, including the pace of potential rate cuts. On Tuesday, Asian markets also exhibited mixed outcomes.
The anticipated data is expected to reveal a deceleration in US consumer and producer price growth on a year-on-year basis, potentially affecting interest rate forecasts ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to commence reducing interest rates next week, although there's debate over whether the cut will be by 25 or 50 basis points. According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, there is currently a 66 percent probability of a 25 basis point cut and a 34 percent probability of a 50 basis point cut.
The Australian stock market is trending slightly downward on Wednesday, erasing gains from the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipping below the 8,000 mark. This decline follows the mixed signals from Wall Street, with weakness in the energy and financial sectors partially mitigated by strength in mining stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 14.80 points, or 0.19 percent, at 7,997.10, having reached a low of 7,972.70 and a high of 8,024.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is also down 10.30 points, or 0.13 percent, at 8,206.70. On Tuesday, Australian stocks closed modestly higher.
In the mining sector, BHP Group is up nearly 1 percent, Rio Tinto has risen by more than 1 percent, and Fortescue Metals has advanced by over 2 percent. Mineral Resources stands out with an impressive surge of more than 17 percent.
Conversely, oil stocks are mostly down. Origin Energy has edged down by 0.4 percent, Santos has dropped over 1 percent, Woodside Energy has fallen almost 2 percent, and Beach Energy is down nearly 1 percent. In the tech sector, Afterpay owner Block is up 0.3 percent, and Zip has gained over 1 percent. However, WiseTech Global is down 0.4 percent, and Xero has declined almost 1 percent, with Appen remaining flat.
The major banks are showing declines: Commonwealth Bank is down over 1 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac have each dropped by almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are both up by more than 2 percent, while Gold Road Resources has added almost 3 percent, and Newmont has gained over 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is an exception, down by more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.665 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is experiencing significant declines on Wednesday, extending the slight losses from the previous session. The Nikkei 225 has fallen below the 35,900 level, with widespread weakness across all sectors, notably among index heavyweights and financial stocks.
By the morning session's close, the Nikkei 225 Index was down 291.83 points, or 0.81 percent, at 35,867.33, having reached a low of 35,730.52 earlier. On Tuesday, Japanese stocks closed slightly lower.
Among notable stocks, market heavyweight SoftBank Group saw a slight rise of 0.2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing fell by 1.5 percent. In the automotive sector, Honda declined by over 1 percent, and Toyota fell nearly 2 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest and Screen Holdings both decreased by almost 1 percent, whereas Tokyo Electron gained over 1 percent.
In banking, Mizuho Financial fell by over 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined nearly 1 percent, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial remained flat.
Among major exporters, Sony edged up 0.2 percent, while Panasonic fell by more than 1 percent, and Mitsubishi Electric declined nearly 1 percent. Canon remained flat.
Major losers included Tokyo Gas, down over 5 percent, and Osaka Gas, down nearly 5 percent. Tokyu Fudosan and Sapporo Holdings both dropped nearly 4 percent. Other notable declines included Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Motors, and Amada, each down over 3 percent. Subaru, Nomura Holdings, Inpex, JTEKT, Terumo, Keisei Electric Railway, Idemitsu Kosan, and Nissui all fell by nearly 3 percent. Fujitsu, however, gained nearly 3 percent.
In the currency market, the US dollar traded in the higher 141 yen range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong experienced a 1.1 percent decline, while China, Malaysia, and South Korea were down between 0.1 and 0.8 percent. Conversely, Singapore, Taiwan, and Indonesia reported gains between 0.2 and 0.5 percent. New Zealand remained relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated during Tuesday's session but ended mostly higher. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 added to the strong gains from Monday's session, although the Dow bucked the trend.The Nasdaq and S&P 500 continued their upward momentum towards the close, achieving new session highs. Specifically, the Nasdaq advanced by 141.28 points or 0.8% to reach 17,025.88, while the S&P 500 gained 24.47 points or 0.5%, settling at 5,495.52. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a decline, falling by 92.63 points or 0.2% to close at 40,736.96.
In Europe, major stock markets experienced a downturn. The German DAX Index dropped by 1.0%, the UK's FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.8%, and France's CAC 40 Index fell by 0.2%.
Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, driven by anticipation of forthcoming inflation data and concerns regarding the global economy's health. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery decreased by $2.43 or 3.54%, ending the session at $66.28 per barrel.
