Asian Markets Traded Mixed

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as the markets are nervous as they seek clarity on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s policy proposals, including increased tariffs, and await key U.S. inflation reading later in the week for directional cues. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Though the markets are optimistic that Trump’s policies such as tax reductions and deregulation will help boost corporate earnings, they see an uptick in inflation amid proposed increase in tariffs that will complicate the US Fed’s interest-rate plans.

Extending the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Tuesday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,200 level, with weakness in mining stocks amid tumbling metal prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 32.10 points or 0.39 percent to 8,234.10, after hitting a low of 8,215.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 28.10 points or 0.33 percent to 8,490.80. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is declining more than 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy, Beach energy and Santos are edging up 0.4 to 0.1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Appen, Zip, Xero and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block is soaring almost 11 percent, mirroring gains in the stock’s US-listed shares after a bullish analyst note from Piper Sandler.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining are losing almost 5 percent each, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star resources are declining more than 3 percent each. Newmont is plunging more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.1 percent and ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent, while Westpac is edging down 0.4 percent and National Australia Bank is losing more than 3 percent.

In other news, shares in Paladin Energy are tumbling almost 25 percent after the uranium producer lowered its FY25 guidance, citing operational challenges and delays in ramping up production.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.656 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, adding the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 39,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,748.13, up 214.81 points or 0.54 percent, after touching a high of 39,866.72 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 1.5 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is declining almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is slipping almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic is gaining almost 3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.1 percent and Canon is adding almost 2 percent, while Sony is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Renesas Electronics is soaring almost 10 percent, Furukawa Electric is surging almost 8 percent and Recruit Holdings is advancing more than 5 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor, Suzuki Motor and Bridgestone are gaining almost 5 percent each. Tokyo Tatemono, Rakuten Group and TDK are adding more than 4 percent each, while Nissan Chemical, Isuzu Motors and Japan Steel Works are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, Dowa Holdings is plunging almost 7 percent, DeNA is losing more than 5 percent, Chiba Bank and Lasertec are declining almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the M2 money stock was up 1.2 percent on year in October, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday – coming in at 1,249.8 trillion yen. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent but was unchanged from the September reading following a downward revision from 1.3 percent. The M3 money stock was up an annual 0.7 percent for the second straight month, while the L money stock increased 3.2 percent on year for the third straight month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 153 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is down 1.7 percent, while, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are lower by between 0.5 and 0.7 percent each. New Zealand, China, Malaysia and Indonesia Korea are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks closed on a firm note on Monday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record highs, even as the Nasdaq settled flat with technology stocks turning in a subdued performance.

The Dow settled at 44,293.13, up 304.14 points or 0.69 percent from previous close, the S&P 500 closed up 5.81 points or 0.1 percent at 6,001.35 and the Nasdaq eked out a small gain of 11.99 points or 0.06 percent, settling at 19,298.76.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.65 percent, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended higher by 1.21 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively,

Crude oil closed sharply lower on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and concerns about demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $2.34 or 3.6 percent at $68.04 a barrel.