Asian stock markets are experiencing a mixed performance on Wednesday, influenced by varied signals from Wall Street overnight. There's ongoing concern regarding the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia concerning the conflict in Ukraine, particularly after Russian President Vladimir Putin adjusted the nation's nuclear policy. On Tuesday, most Asian markets closed higher.
President Putin has amended Russia's nuclear doctrine following President Joe Biden's approval for Ukraine to strike Russian territory utilizing U.S.-supplied long-range missiles. The Kremlin has cautioned that a nuclear response might be contemplated if Russia were subjected to a traditional missile attack bolstered by a nuclear power.
Just before Russia's nuclear policy update, Ukraine purportedly employed U.S.-made long-range missiles to target a Russian military site in the Bryansk border area.
In Australia, shares have dipped slightly on Wednesday, ending a four-day winning streak. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 remains above the 8,300 mark after experiencing mixed signals from Wall Street, with technology, financial, and energy stocks seeing declines, offset partly by gains in mining stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down by 30.10 points or 0.36 percent at 8,343.90, after previously hitting a low of 8,336.60. The broader All Ordinaries Index decreased by 32.60 points or 0.38 percent to 8,596.60, despite a notable rise in Australian stocks on Tuesday.
In the mining sector, Rio Tinto is up by 0.5 percent, Fortescue Metals has gained over 1 percent, and Mineral Resources is advancing by more than 3 percent, while BHP Group is slightly down by 0.1 percent.
Most oil stocks are underperforming. Woodside Energy and Santos have decreased by 0.1 or 0.3 percent respectively, with Beach Energy falling nearly 2 percent. Origin Energy, conversely, is slightly up by 0.1 percent. In technology, Block, Afterpay's owner, is almost 2 percent higher, whereas Zip is down 1.5 percent, WiseTech Global nearly 1 percent, Xero over 1 percent, and Appen plummeting more than 9 percent.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank is slightly up by 0.5 percent, whereas Westpac, ANZ Banking, and National Australia Bank have dipped by 0.1 or 0.4 percent each.
Gold mining firms, including Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources, Resolute Mining, Gold Road Resources, and Newmont, have all seen increases of over 1 percent each.
In other developments, PWR Holdings shares have plunged 30 percent following an announcement that the automotive cooling parts provider expects its after-tax profit in the first half of FY25 to be around $3.5 million—one-third of what it reported for the same period last year.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.653 as of Wednesday.
Japan's stock market is noticeably lower amid fluctuating trades on Wednesday, countering previous gains. Mixed cues from Wall Street have impacted the Nikkei 225, which is now well below the 38,300 level due to weaknesses in financial and technology sectors.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,242.35, down by 172.08 points or 0.45 percent, having touched a high of 38,520.45 and a low of 38,207.79 earlier. Japanese stocks saw significant rises on Tuesday.
Major market player SoftBank Group is up slightly by 0.4 percent, while Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, has fallen 0.3 percent. Among car manufacturers, Honda has declined by over 1 percent, with Toyota down nearly 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron have dropped nearly 1 percent each, and Screen Holdings is down 1.5 percent.
In banking, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are both down over 1 percent, with Mizuho Financial also nearly 1 percent lower.
Leading exporters had mixed results: Sony has risen more than 3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is up 0.2 percent, while Canon has decreased by 0.3 percent, and Panasonic has lost over 1 percent.
In the list of major losers, Tokio Marine Holdings has plunged over 7 percent, and MS&AD Insurance is down almost 5 percent.
Conversely, Sompo Holdings and Tokyo Gas have surged more than 11 percent each, Seven & I Holdings has jumped nearly 9 percent, while Konica Minolta and Nidec have gained over 4 percent each. Japan Steel Works adds over 3 percent and Sharp, CyberAgent, and Yamaha advance almost 3 percent each.
In economic updates, Japan reported a merchandise trade deficit of 461.2 billion yen in October, as announced by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday. This is higher than the forecasted shortfall of 360.4 billion yen, following an upward revision of the September deficit to 294.1 billion yen.Exports experienced a notable increase of 3.1% year-over-year, reaching 9.426 trillion yen, surpassing the anticipated rise of 2.2%. This follows a previous month's decline of 1.7%. Conversely, imports saw a modest annual growth of 0.4% to 9.887 trillion yen, contrary to predictions of a 0.3% decrease, building on the 1.8% increase observed the month prior.
In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 154-yen range as of Wednesday.
In other developments across Asia, stock indices in New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia saw declines ranging from 0.2% to 0.7%. Conversely, markets in China, South Korea, and Taiwan posted gains between 0.2% and 0.6%. The Hong Kong market remained relatively stable.
Turning to Wall Street, Tuesday's trading session started with stocks trending downward but saw a significant recovery during the day. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rebounded from early losses to close in positive territory, while the Dow continued to struggle in negative figures.
Ultimately, the major indices closed the day with mixed results. The Dow decreased by 120.66 points, or 0.3%, finishing at 43,268.94. In contrast, the S&P 500 increased by 23.36 points, or 0.4%, closing at 5,916.98, while the Nasdaq rose by 195.66 points, or 1.0%, to close at 18,987.47.
Across Europe, the major markets faced downward movement. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index saw a slight decline of 0.1%, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index each dropped by 0.7%.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices rose on Tuesday, amid growing concerns about potential supply disruptions. This development followed Ukraine's use of long-range U.S. missiles to target a facility in Russia's Bryansk region. December futures for West Texas Intermediate Crude increased by $0.23, or approximately 0.3%, closing at $69.39 per barrel.