Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on concerns about the outlook for inflation following crude oil’s sharp uptick to 14 year high amid fears of a ban on Russian oil by the U.S. and its Western allies. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also preparing to raise interest rates by at least a quarter point at its monetary policy meeting next week. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.
Meanwhile, Russia announced a limited ceasefire and opening of several civilian evacuation corridors in Ukraine’s Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy today to allow civilians to evacuate.
The Australian stock market is slightly lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Monday, on inflation concerns amid a spike in crude oil prices and as traders continue to monitor developments surrounding the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.00 points or 0.47 percent to 7,005.60, after hitting a low of 6,991.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 42.70 points or 0.58 percent to 7,278.50. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 2 percent each, while OZ Minerals and Rio Tinto are declining more than 2 percent each. Mineral Resources is down almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are lower, with Beach energy losing almost 2 percent, Woodside Petroleum declining almost 3 percent, Santos slipping more than 3 percent and Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Appen is edging up 0.2 percent and WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent, while Xero is losing more than 1 percent, Block is declining almost 4 percent and Zip is slipping more than 3 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is edging 0.2 percent and Newcrest Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources declining almost 2 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is adding almost 1 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging 0.2 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.732 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 staying above the 25,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on inflation concerns amid the spike in crude oil prices and as traders continues to monitor developments surrounding the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 25,143.52, down 77.89 points or 0.31 percent, after hitting a low of 24,890.22 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is flat.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are edging up 0.3 percent each. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining more than 2 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher, with Panasonic and Canon gaining more than 1 percent each, while Sony is adding almost 2 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 3 percent.
Among the other major losers, Hino Motors is plunging more than 12 percent, Toho Zinc is sliding more than 10 percent and Idemitsu Kosan is sliding almost 7 percent, while Inpex, Dowa Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are losing more than 5 percent each. Shiseido, Nippon Light Metal, ENEOS Holdings, Sojitz, Marubeni, JFE Holdings and Tokyo Electric Power are down almost 5 percent each, while Suzuki Motor and Mitsui Mining & Smelting are lower by more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, AGC is gaining more than 5 percent and Fanuc is up more than 4 percent, while CyberAgent, Keyence, Nippon Express and M3 are adding almost 4 percent each. Konami Holdings, Ricoh, Sharp, Z Holdings and Kikkoman are advancing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, Japan posted a current account deficit of 1,188.7 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. That missed expectations for a shortfall of 880.2 billion yen following the 370.8 billion yen deficit in December. Imports were up 39.9 percent on year at 8,166.3 billion yen, while exports climbed an annual 15.2 percent to 6,562.0 billion yen for a trade deficit of 1,604.3 billion yen. The capital account posted a deficit of 9.3 billion yen, while the financial account saw a surplus of 1,239.0 billion yen.
Further, the value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 0.4 percent on year in February, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday – coming in at 580.048 billion yen. That follows the downwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in January (originally 0.6 percent).
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 115 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Malaysia are lower by between 1.1 and 1.2 percent each, while Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea are down 0.2 and0.4 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.1 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all showed substantial moves to the downside on the day.
The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session at their worst levels of the session. The Dow plunged 797.42 points or 2.4 percent to 32,817.38, the Nasdaq plummeted 482.48 points or 3.6 percent to 12,830.96 and the S&P 500 tumbled 127.78 points or 3 percent to 4,201.09.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.3 percent and the German DAX Index plunged by 2 percent.
Crude oil futures surged on Monday amid rising concerns over global oil supplies amid talks the U.S. and its Western allies are likely to impose a ban on Russian oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $3.72 or 3.2 percent at $119.40 a barrel.
Source: Read Full Article