ASX 200
The ASX 200 was up 0.10%, with mining stocks a drag. Manufacturing sector data delivered modest support, with the AIG Manufacturing Index rising from -6.4 to +5.6. RBA Governor Philip Lowe was also in focus this morning. Lowe reportedly said that pausing interest rate hikes does not mean an end to interest rate hikes.
The big-4 had a mixed morning session, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and ANZ Group (ANZ) up by 0.35% and 0.45%, respectively. However, Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) and National Australia Bank (NAB) saw losses of 0.61% and 0.05%, respectively.
Oil stocks also had a mixed session. Woodside Energy Group (WDS) rose by 0.17%, while Santos Ltd (STO) fell by 0.35%.
Mining stocks struggled. Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP) were down by 0.97% and 1.81%, respectively, with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) falling by 1.51%. Newcrest Mining (NCM) bucked the trend, rising by 2.63%.
Hang Seng Index
Hong Kong markets are closed today for the Ching Ming Festival. The Hang Seng fell by 0.66% on Tuesday.
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225 was down 0.88% this morning, with a weaker USD/JPY a drag.
Across the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell by 1.14% and 2.57%, respectively.
Looking at the main components, Tokyo Electron Limited (8035) bucked the bearish trend, rising by 0.73%.
However, Fast Retailing Co (9983) and Sony Corp (6758) saw losses of 1.80% and 1.29%, respectively. SoftBank Group Corp. (9984) and KDDI Corp (9433) were down by 0.15% and 0.56%, respectively.
Check out our economic calendar for today’s economic events.
