Asian Markets Mixed Amid Cautious Trades

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as traders remained cautious as they look ahead to a slew of central bank policy meetings in of the U.S., China, Europe and Japan this week. The US Fed is expected to pause raising interest rates amid signs of cooling inflation and slowing economic growth. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

The Fed’s accompanying statement is likely to have a significant impact on the outlook for rates along with some closely watched inflation data due to be released in the coming days.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 71.2 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, but a 28.8 percent chance of another quarter point rate hike in July

The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Tuesday after opening lower, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as traders reacted to the unexpected rise in domestic consumer sentiment in June. This was nearly offset by weakness in mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices.

According to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index, consumer sentiment unexpectedly edged up 0.2 percent in June after a 7.9 percent drop in May. This also came in better than market consensus for a flat reading.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 2.10 points or 0.03 percent to 7,124.60, after hitting a low of 7,101.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 2.30 points or 0.03 percent to 7,314.60. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday prior to the holiday on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping almost 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are declining more than 2 percent each, while Beach energy is losing more than 1 percent. Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent, while Xero is gaining almost 3 percent, WiseTech Global is adding more than 2 percent and Zip is up almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is down almost 1 percent, Northern Star resources is losing more than 1 percent, Newcrest Mining is declining almost 2 percent and Evolution Mining is slipping more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. National Australia Bank is flat.

In other news, shares in Domino’s Pizza are plunging almost 9 percent after its slashed its sales outlook for the full-year 2023. It also announced the closure of 27 stores in Denmark, and 65 to 70 underperforming corporate stores as well as its construction and supply business in Australia.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.674 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 32,900 level at fresh 33-year highs, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by index heavyweights.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,946.49, up 312.49 points or 1.58 percent, after touching a 33-year high of 32,995.35 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is surging more than 7 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining 3.5 percent, while Screen Holdings is adding almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.2 percent, while Canon is edging up 0.2 percent and Sony is gaining almost 1 percent. Panasonic is flat

Among the other major gainers, GS Yuasa and Mitsui Mining & Smelting are gaining more than 4 percent each, while Renesas Electronics and Hitachi Zosen are adding almost 4 percent each. Mazda Motor is up more than 3 percent, while Keisei Electric Railway, Denso and Nissan Motor are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Eisai is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 139 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent each. Taiwan is up 1.2 percent, while New Zealand and South Korea are up 0.3 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, adding to the modest gains posted last week. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in over a year.

The major averages finished the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 202.78 points or 1.5 percent to 13,461.92, the S&P 500 jumped 40.07 points or 0.9 percent to 4,338.93 and the Dow climbed 189.55 points or 0.6 percent to 34,066.33.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a downward revision in the crude oil price forecast by Goldman Sachs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July tumbled $3.05 or 4.4 percent at $67.12 a barrel, a three-month low.