Tokyo, Mar. 15, (dpa-AFX/GNA) – Asian stock markets were trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on concerns about the outlook for inflation following crude oil’s sharp uptick and caution ahead of major central bank meetings this week, including at the Fed in the United States.
Asian markets closed mixed on Monday. Also, reports that China is seeing its worst Covid outbreak in more than two years have raised concerns over demand and supply chain issues.
Meanwhile, traders were hopeful the Russia-Ukraine peace talks which resumed on Tuesday could lead to a diplomatic solution to the ongoing war.
The Australian stock market was modestly lower on Tuesday, giving up the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group was losing more than 3 per cent, Fortescue Metals sliding almost 6%, OZ Minerals declining by almost 4%, Rio Tinto slipping more than 4% and Mineral Resources down more than 5%.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank were gaining more than 1% each, while ANZ Banking was adding almost 1%.
The Japanese stock market was modestly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying just below the 25,400 level, also Wall Street cues overnight.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 25,385.11, up 77.26 points or 0.31 per cent, after touching a high of 25,423.95 and a low of 25,219.13 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group was losing more than 5% and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was down more than 4%. Among automakers, Honda edged up 0.2% and Toyota added more than 1%.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was flat, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial edged up 0.3%, with Mizuho Financial gaining almost 1%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan was slipping 1.6% and China was down 1.1% while Hong Kong South Korea and Malaysia were lower by between 0.3 and 0.7% each.
Indonesia and Singapore were down 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
GNA