Asian stock markets are mixed on Wednesday following the modest gains overnight on Wall Street and as tech giant Apple reported weaker than expected revenues as well as a surprise fall in iPhone sales in the second quarter. Investors also turned cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due later in the day.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but investors will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about future rate hikes.
The Australian market is extending losses from the previous session, with investors treading cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision. Banks and mining stocks are among the leading losers.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 14.90 points or 0.25 percent to 5,935.50, off a low of 5931.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is losing 11.70 points or 0.20 percent to 5,959.70.
Vocus Group's shares are tumbling almost 24 percent after the telecom group issued its second profit warning in six months, by cutting its underlying earnings forecast for the full year by as much as 19 percent.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are lower in a range of 0.3 percent to 1.4 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton is losing almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is down more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is lower by almost 1 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miners are higher despite flat gold prices overnight. Newcrest Mining is advancing almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is rising more than 2 percent.
Oil stocks are also up despite the fall in crude oil prices overnight. Oil Search is gaining almost 2 percent, Santos is advancing almost 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is rising almost 1 percent.
Amcor has acquired Colombian specialty container business Plasticos Team SAS for an undisclosed sum. The packaging giant's shares are losing more than 2 percent.
Downer EDI said takeover target Spotless Group has not provided it with any reason to raise it's A$1.26 billion takeover bid, which is "final". Shares of Downer EDI are advancing more than 1 percent, while shares of Spotless are declining almost 2 percent.
Fairfax Media said it will cut 25 percent of its metropolitan journalist staff as part of efforts to save A$30 million across its Australian newspaper operations. The company's shares are down almost 1 percent.
On the economic front, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the service sector in Australia continued to expand in April, and at a faster rate, with a Performance of Service Index score of 53.0. That's up from 51.7 in March, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is slightly higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday with investors expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates later in the day. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7532, up from US$0.7525 on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai and Indonesia are also edging lower, while Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan and Malaysia are all modestly higher.
The stock markets in South Korea and Hong Kong are closed on Wednesday in observance of Buddha's birthday, while the markets in Japan are closed for the rest of the week for the Golden Week holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The looming monthly jobs report and French presidential runoff may also have kept traders on the sidelines.
The Dow climbed 36.43 points or 0.2 percent to 20,949.89, the Nasdaq inched up 3.76 points or 0.1 percent to 6,095.37 and the S&P 500 rose 2.84 points or 0.1 percent to 2,391.17.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil futures plunged to their lowest settlement since late November ahead of data on U.S. crude oil stockpiles. WTI crude for June delivery tumbled $1.18 or 2.4 percent to close at $47.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.