Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to fret over persistently high crude oil prices and escalating Middle East hostilities, which is stoking global inflation risks and rate-hike fears. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

Iran has launched a barrage of missiles targeting U.S. military positions in Jordan and warned all tanker crews in Bahraini and Kuwaiti to "immediately abandon their vessels", whether at anchor or at berth in ports.

This attack came after the U.S. destroyed five Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, a major crude export hub. The US attack was in response to alleged attempts by Iran to target a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles twice over two days.

Traders also look ahead to crucial U.S. inflation data due later in the week, which could influence expectations regarding a potential US Fed rate increase at its September 15-16 meeting. Markets are currently pricing in roughly a 60% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike next week.

Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday after opening in the green, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 8,900 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in gold miners and technology stocks partially offset by gains in iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.40 points or 0.32 percent to 8,892.40, after touching a high of 8,951.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 29.00 points or 0.32 percent to 9,085.30. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is adding almost 2 percent, while Fortescue and Mineral Resources are up more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is up almost 2 percent, Woodside Energy is advancing more than 2 percent, Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Santos is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are declining almost 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is down more than 1 percent. Zip is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent and National Australia bank is losing almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are slipping almost 3 percent each, while Newmont is edging down 0.2 percent, Genesis Minerals is down more than 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is losing more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.722 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Wednesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving up to near the 65,500 level, with gains in automakers, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 65,495.23, up 225.90 points or 0.35 percent, after touching a high of 65,794.03 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.4 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.1 percent and Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is flat.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 2 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent, while Canon and Sony are down almost 1 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Furukawa Electric is soaring almost 11 percent, Fujikura is jumping almost 9 percent and Sumitomo Electric Industries is surging more than 6 percent, while Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Kinzoku are advancing almost 6 percent each. Mitsubishi Materials is gaining more than 5 percent and Lasertec is up almost 5 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Dowa Holdings, ENEOS Holdings, Tokai Carbon and Fuji Electric are adding more than 4 percent each. IHI, Resonac Holdings and SMC are rising more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kyowa Kirin is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Nikon and Sumitomo Pharma are declining more than 4 percent each. Trend Micro, Nomura Research Institute, SHIFT and Nitori Holdings are losing almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the Reuters Tankan index for Japanese manufacturers increased for the second straight month to +21 in September 2026 from +18 in the previous month, marking the highest reading since December 2021. Meanwhile, non-manufacturers' sentiment increased to +29 from +28, buoyed by strong domestic consumption. Looking three months ahead, manufacturers expect sentiment to improve to +27, while non-manufacturers remained at +27.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. South Korea is up 2.0 percent, while Taiwan and China are up 0.7 and 0.3 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday with trading resuming following the long Labor Day weekend. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Dow showing a particularly steep decline.

The Dow slumped 628.18 points or 1.2 percent to 52,786.07, the S&P 500 fell 45.08 points or 0.6 percent to 7,673.52 and the Nasdaq dipped 85.58 points or 0.3 percent to 26,421.41. The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as U.S. forces and Iran continue to trade attacks, fueling supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was last up $1.31 or 1.43 percent at $92.79 per barrel.