Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as markets in South Korea and Taiwan continue their slide. Traders also remain cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to hostilities in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran continue to hold off on exchanging attacks for the fourth straight day. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

The markets look ahead to the interest rate decision by the US Fed later in the day, though they are pricing in a hold on interest rates.

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged yesterday that the U.S. and Iran were involved in negotiations and expected a positive outcome.

Despite Trump's claims, Iran denied being involved in any kind of talks with the U.S. Iran admitted to being involved in discussions with Oman and Saudi Arabia separately regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz but ruled the U.S. involvement anywhere in the picture.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Saudi forces struck Tehran-backed targets in Iraq after Tehran fired missiles at U.S. bases, reviving concerns over energy supply disruptions.

Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 9,000 mark, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 112.50 points or 1.26 percent to 9,060.30, after touching a high of 9,086.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 109.70 points or 1.20 percent to 9,221.70. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, Fortescue is adding almost 2 percent, Mineral Resources is surging almost 5 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing more than 4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent. Santos is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, WiseTech Global and Zip are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Xero is surging almost 5 percent and Appen is skyrocketing more than 20 percent after delivering the strongest quarter in years and reaffirming full-year guidance.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent.

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

In other news, shares in Meteoric Resources are surging almost 7 percent after it inked a strategic rare earth partnership with POSCO International to support Caldeira's development in Brazil.

In economic news, the annual inflation rate in Australia unexpectedly eased to 3.8 percent in June 2026 from both May's reading and expectations of 4.0 percent, but remained above the central bank's 2 to 3 percent target range. It was the softest increase since February.

The trimmed mean CPI stood at 3.6 percent on year, still the highest since September 2024 but below expectations of 3.7 percent, while the weighted median CPI rose 3.7 percent, after a 3.6 percent gain in May. Monthly, the CPI unexpectedly edged down 0.1 percent, marking its second consecutive monthly decline and defying expectations of a 0.2 percent rise.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.695 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Wednesday after opening well in the green, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 61,700 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 61,689.86, up 675.06 points or 1.08 percent, after touching a high of 63,138.04 and a low of 61,201.98 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 3 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is adding almost 3 percent, while Tokyo Electron is declining almost 5 percent and Screen Holdings is tumbling almost 14 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing more than 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is declining almost 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 2 percent and Panasonic is edging down 0.3 percent, while Canon is gaining almost 3 percent and Sony is adding more than 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, Keyence is jumping almost 10 percent and Konami Group is surging almost 8 percent, while Dentsu Group, Resonac Holdings, BANDAI NAMCO and Shiseido are advancing more than 4 percent each. Nintendo is advancing almost 4 percent, while BayCurrent, Eisai, Japan Exchange Group, Nitto Denko and Fanuc are gaining more than 3 percent each. Recruit Holdings and Subaru are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, ARCHION is tumbling more than 8 percdent and Murata Manufacturing is declining almost 6 percent, while SHIFT and Taiyo Yuden are losing almost 4 percent each. Renesas Electronics is slipping more than 3 percent, while Yokohama Financial and Resona Holdings are down almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 163 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 1.5 percent each. South Korea and Taiwan are tumbling 4.7 and 2.8 percent respectively. China is down 0.5 percent.

On the Wall Street, continued to experience choppy trading during Tuesday's session, following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. While the Dow showed a strong move to the upside, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 spent much of the day lingering near the unchanged line after recovering from early weakness.

The Dow closed higher for the third straight session, jumping 537.24 points or 1 percent to 52,747.32. The S&P 500 also rose 15.60 points or 0.2 percent to 7,428.78, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 55.17 points or 0.2 percent to 24,876.91. Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices plunged again on Tuesday amid rising optimism over a resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict, easing supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery shed $3.61 or 4.37 percent at $79.00 per barrel.