Asian stock markets are mostly trading lower on Wednesday, despite opening on a firm note on the back of a positive lead from Wall Street where the major averages surged higher overnight on some encouraging economic data.
Concerns about a likely tapering of asset purchase program by the U.S. Federal Reserve appears to be weighing on sentiment and prompting investors to trim down positions.
In the Australian market, mining and energy stocks rose sharply in early trades and are still mostly up with impressive gains. Financial and industrial stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is up 32 points or 0.7 percent at 4,846.4. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,827, up 32.4 points or 0.7 percent from its previous close.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (BHP) is up 1 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO) is up 1.2 percent and Fortescue Metals is trading 1.7 percent up, while Newcrest Mining is trading weak, losing about 0.4 percent.
Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum is up 1.3 percent, Santos is up 0.8 percent and Oil Search is trading higher by 1.7 percent, while Caltex Australia and Origin Energy are up marginally.
In the banking space, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are down marginally and Westpac (WBK) is trading 1.2 percent down, while National Australia Bank is up 0.6 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are up 1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Mineral Resources, Arrium, Seek, Whitehaven Coal, Iluka Resources, Toll Holdings and Downer EDI are up 3.5 to 6 percent.
ALS, David Jones, Goodman Group, Incitec Pivot, Leighton Holdings, Ansell, WorleyParsons, Myer Holdings, PanAust, Amcor and Treasury Wine Estates are all up 2.8 to 3.3 percent.
UGL Limited shares are up more than a percent on reports the company has secured new contracts worth A$120 million across its global property services business, DTZ.
Meanwhile, News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) and Perseus Mining are trading sharply lower, losing more than 8 percent.
On the economic front, the Conference Board's Leading Index for Australia rose in May by 0.3 percent, the Board reported Wednesday. The Board's Coincident Index also rose 0.3 percent.
The April increase for the Leading Index was its fourth straight monthly rise. The Board said the biggest positive contributions came from the money supply and stock price categories. All four components of the Coincident Index rose in April.
The Board noted that the Leading Economic Index has risen 0.7 percent in the last six months, for an annual rate of 1.5 percent, compared to an annualized rate of minus-0.8 percent for the previous six month period.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the local unit was quoting at US$0.9486, down marginally from Tuesday's close of US$0.9492.
The Japanese stock market moved up sharply with investors going on a buying spree, buoyed by encouraging trade data, a weaker yen and the overnight strong close on Wall Street.
With several key stocks from across various sectors surging higher, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index zoomed to 13,296.6, and despite paring some gains subsequently, was up as much as 162.7 points or 1.3 percent at 13,170 when the morning session ended.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, the biggest gainer in the Nikkei index, was up 9 percent at the break. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, JFE Holdings, JTEKT Corp., Sumitomo Corp., Minebea, Astellas Pharma, Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Nippon Yusen KK, Dentsu Inc., Seven & I Holdings, Kobe Steel, Pacific Metals, Bank of Yokohama and Nippon Sheet Glass gained 3 to 5 percent.
Softbank Corp. shares were up 4 percent following an announcement from its rival Dish Network Corp. that it will not make a new offer for Sprint Nextel Corp. (S).
Astellas Pharma gained nearly 4 percent on reports the company is planning to sell its dermatology assets.
Hitachi Zosen, Marui Group, Dai Nippon Printing, Chiba Bank, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, Aozora Bank and J Front Retailing also rose sharply.
Among the losers, Tokyo Electric Power was down 6.6 percent and Daikin Industries lost around 3.2 percent. Tokyo Tatemono, Kansai Electric Power, Panasonic Corp. (PC), Sony Corp. (SNE), Hitachi and Tokyo Dome were down 2 to 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan saw a merchandise trade deficit of 993.916 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 1.22 trillion yen following the downwardly revised deficit of 881.9 billion yen (originally 879.9 trillion yen).
Exports surged 10.1 percent on year, topping forecasts for a gain of 6.4 percent after adding 3.8 percent in April. Imports climbed an annual 10.0 percent versus expectations for 11.0 percent after gaining a revised 9.5 percent in the previous month (originally 9.4 percent).
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 95 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 95.41 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore are trading notably lower, while Malaysia and Taiwan are down marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong upward move on Tuesday, despite traders expressing some uncertainty ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement. A positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing a notable rebound by housing starts in the month of May aided the surge.
The Dow surged up 138.4 points or 0.9 percent to 15,318.2, the Nasdaq advanced 30.1 points or 0.9 percent to 3,482.2 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.8 points or 0.8 percent to 1,651.8.
Major European markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday. While the French CAC 40 index dipped by 0.1 percent, the German DAX index gained 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index advanced by 0.7 percent.
U.S. crude oil settled higher on Tuesday, ahead of the weekly crude oil inventories report and on supply concerns stemming from the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East as violence continued unabated in Syria.
Crude for July delivery ended up $0.67 or 0.7 percent at $98.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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