Asian Markets Trade Mixed

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders react to the political turmoil in South Korea, a deepening political crisis in France and faltering economic growth in China, with the South Korean market plunging over 2 percent. They also remain optimistic about an interest rate cut by the US Fed in December. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Traders will keep an eye on the release of the closely watched monthly US jobs report on Friday that could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting in mid-December.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 72.1 percent chance the Fed cuts rates by another 25 basis points but a 27.9 percent chance the central bank leaves rates unchanged.

Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,500 level from all-time highs, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, after domestic GDP data misses expectations, with weakness in financial stocks partially offset by gains in technology, mining and energy stocks amid higher commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 42.20 points or 0.50 percent to 8,453.00, after hitting a low of 8,429.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.00 points or 0.40 percent to 8,719.70. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent, Fortescue Metals is adding 1.5 percent and Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is edging down 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Santos is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Zip is gaining 1.5 percent, Appen is adding almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing 2.5 percent and Xero is edging up 0.4 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is declining more than 1 percent and Westpac is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining 2.5 percent and Newmont is adding more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.5 percent each, Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

In economic news, Australia’s gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent, although it was up from 0.2 percent in the previous three months. On an annualized basis, GDO was up 0.8 percent – again missing forecasts for a gain of 1.1 percent and down from 1.0 percent in the three months prior.

Meanwhile, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Wednesday, with a services PMI score of 50.5. That’s down from 51.0 in October, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.644 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modestly lower on Wednesday, reversing to the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 39,200 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, financial and automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,077.04, down 171.82 points or 0.44 percent, after touching a high of 39,417.08 and a low of 39,062.03 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is flat.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is losing more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Sony is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Eisai and Keisei Electric Railway are losing more than 4 percent each, while Nikon is down more than 3 percent and Otsuka Holdings is declining almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Ryohin Keikaku is surging almost 6 percent, DeNA is gaining almost 5 percent, ZOZO is adding more than 4 percent and Fujikura is up more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI are advancing almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the services sector in Japan moved back into expansion territory in November, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Tuesday with a service PMI score of 50.5. That’s up from 49.7 in October, and it moves back above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 149 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 2.0 percent and New Zealand is down 1.5 percent, while China and Hong Kong are down 0.3 percent each. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 and 0.7 percent each.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday following the mixed performance seen during Monday’s session. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs.

The major averages eventually ended the day mixed. While the Dow dipped 76.47 points or 0.2 percent to 44,705.53, the Nasdaq rose 76.96 points or 0.4 percent to 19,480.91 and the S&P 500 crept up 2.73 points or 0.1 percent to 6,049.88.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Tuesday on easing concerns about excess supply on hopes that OPEC will delay plans to return its production cuts by a few more months. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $1.84 or 2.7 percent at $69.94 a barrel.