Asian stock markets exhibited mixed performances on Wednesday amid caution over escalating Middle East tensions following Iran's missile attack on Israel, in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other high-ranking officials. Hong Kong's market continued its rally from Monday, whereas Japan's Nikkei experienced a significant decline. On Tuesday, Asian markets had also closed mixed.
Australian shares edged up slightly, recovering from previous losses. The S&P/ASX 200 index maintained its position above the 8,200 level despite negative signals from Wall Street, with gains in gold miners and energy stocks balancing out losses in the iron ore and technology sectors. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 2.40 points, or 0.03%, to 8,211.30, oscillating between a low of 8,176.80 and a high of 8,214.90. The All Ordinaries index increased by 2.20 points, or 0.03%, to 8,484.10. Notably, Australian stocks had fallen substantially on Tuesday.
In the mining sector, Rio Tinto fell nearly 1%, while Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals dipped between 0.4% and 0.5% each. BHP Group, however, gained almost 1%.
The oil sector generally saw upward trends, with Origin Energy marginally up by 0.3%, Beach Energy rising over 3%, and both Woodside Energy and Santos climbing nearly 3% each.
In technology, Block, the owner of Afterpay, dropped almost 1%, Zip declined nearly 3%, WiseTech Global fell by 1.5%, and Xero was down over 2%, while Appen inched up by 0.5%.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac edged up by 0.1% to 0.3% each.
Gold mining companies showed positive movements, with Evolution Mining advancing more than 1%, Gold Road Resources increasing over 2%, Newmont rising nearly 2%, and both Northern Star Resources and Resolute Mining adding almost 1%.
In currency trading, the Australian dollar stood at $0.691 on Wednesday.
In Japan, the stock market experienced sharp declines, reversing gains from the previous session following Wall Street's negative lead. The Nikkei 225 dipped just above the 38,000 mark, with widespread sector weaknesses, particularly in heavyweights and tech stocks. The Nikkei 225 Index concluded the morning session at 38,013.76, down by 638.21 points, or 1.65%, after hitting a low of 37,892.27. Japanese stocks had risen sharply on Tuesday.
Major market player SoftBank Group fell over 1%, and Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, decreased more than 3%. Among automakers, Honda edged up 0.5%, while Toyota dropped by 0.4%.
In the tech sector, Advantest saw a decline of more than 4%, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings decreased by nearly 3% each.
Within the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lost more than 1%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial edged up 0.1%, and Mizuho Financial remained flat.
Leading exporters faced drops, with Sony falling by almost 5%, Panasonic declining by 0.4%, Canon decreasing by almost 1%, while Mitsubishi Electric rose by almost 1%.
Other significant losers included Isetan Mitsukoshi, TDK, and Murata Manufacturing, all slipping nearly 5%, while ZOZO, Lasertec, and others faced declines exceeding 4%. Stocks like NEXON, Disco, Taiyo Yuden, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Socionext, Nitto Denko, and Mitsubishi Chemical saw drops of more than 3%.
In contrast, Inpex surged over 5%, Mitsubishi Motors gained over 4%, and Idemitsu Kosan rose by more than 3%, with ENEOS Holdings and Marubeni both up almost 3%.
In economic news, Japan's monetary base fell by 0.1% on a yearly basis in September, reaching 669.446 trillion yen, as reported by the Bank of Japan. This followed a 0.6% rise in August. Banknotes in circulation dropped by 1.1% annually, whereas current account balances increased by 0.2%, including a 3.0% surge in reserve balances. However, for the third quarter of 2024, the monetary base saw a 0.5% increase.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar hovered in the higher 143 yen range on Wednesday.Across Asia, stock markets displayed varied performances. Hong Kong experienced a notable surge of 4.3%, while Singapore and Taiwan saw modest increases of 0.2% and 0.8%, respectively. On the other hand, indices in South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia dipped between 0.4% and 0.8%. New Zealand's market remained relatively stable. China was closed for its National Day holiday.
In the U.S., Wall Street exhibited some recovery during Tuesday's trading session. However, the major indices ended the day significantly lower, primarily due to a steep decline early in the session. The technology-focused Nasdaq suffered the most, leading the downward trend.
The Nasdaq dropped by 278.81 points, or 1.5%, to close at 17,910.36. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 decreased by 53.73 points, or 0.9%, to 5,708.75, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 173.18 points, or 0.4%, to end at 42,156.97.
In Europe, markets showed a mixed performance following initial gains. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5%, whereas Germany's DAX Index decreased by 0.6%, and France's CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.8%.
Crude oil prices saw an uptick on Tuesday, driven by concerns over potential supply constraints amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran's missile attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November rose by $1.66, or nearly 2.5%, to settle at $69.83 per barrel.