CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from European markets overnight, as traders remained cautious after China's central bank did not introduce further stimulus as speculated to prop up its flagging economic recovery. Meanwhile, the central bank cut some of its key lending rates for the first time in 10 months. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.
Traders also looked ahead to US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimonies on Wednesday and Thursday for clues on the monetary policy ahead. They also looked ahead to the Bank of England's monetary policy later in the week.
The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous six sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,300 level, despite the broadly negative cues from European markets overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks amid higher commodity prices.
Traders also await the release of the minutes of the latest Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting which could provide fresh insight on the path for domestic monetary policy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 53.00 points or 0.73 percent to 7,347.90, after touching a high of 7,349.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 48.10 points or 0.64 percent to 7,537.30. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging down 0.2 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent. Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Appen is gaining more than 1 percent, Xero is edging up 0.2 percent and Zip is adding almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources and Northern Star resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent is flat.
In other news, shares in Lake Resources continued to plung more than 17 percent after the lithium developer reported on Monday disappointing operational update for its Kachi brine project in Argentina amid higher operational costs.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.680 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is notably lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 33,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from European markets overnight, as traders also continued to book profits after the recent rally that pushed the markets to fresh 33-year highs.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 33,161.94, down 208.48 points or 0.62 percent, after hitting a low of 33,089.02 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is flat.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial are down more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent, while Sony and Panasonic are down almost 1 percent each. Canon is gaining almost 2 percent.
Among the other major losers, Sompo Holdings and Tokio Marine Holdings are losing almost 5 percent each, while MS&AD Insurance Group is declining more than 4 percent. Rakuten Group is down almost 3 percent.
Conversely, Mitsubishi is gaining more than 4 percent and OKUMA is adding almost 4 percent, while Mitsui & Co. and Marubeni are advancing almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 141 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.4 percent, while New Zealand, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each.
The Wall Street was closed on account of Juneteenth on Monday. The shares closed lower on Friday.
The major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.71 percent, Germany's DAX ended 0.96 percent lower, and France's CAC 40 shed 1.0 percent.
Crude oil prices edged down Monday, with the West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July down $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $71.31 a barrel.
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