Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

Market Overview - Asian stock markets are mostly trading lower, influenced by negative cues from Wall Street and rising uncertainty regarding interest rates after comments from US Fed Chair Jerome Powell [1][15] - Renewed trade tensions with the US and escalating geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East are negatively impacting market sentiment [1] US Federal Reserve Insights - Jerome Powell described equity prices as "fairly highly valued" and noted a "challenging situation" for the Fed, with inflation risks tilted to the upside and employment risks to the downside [2] - Fed Governor Stephen Miran called for substantially lower interest rates, advocating for a 50 basis point cut at the last Fed meeting [3] - The general market consensus anticipates two more interest rate cuts before the end of the year, with a 94.1% chance of a 25 basis point cut at the upcoming Fed meeting [4][3] Australian Market Performance - The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 83.90 points or 0.95% to 8,762.00, breaking a three-session winning streak [5] - Major miners like BHP Group and Fortescue saw slight declines, while Mineral Resources gained over 2% [5] - Oil stocks generally performed well, with Woodside Energy up 0.4% and Santos gaining more than 1% [6] Japanese Market Performance - The Nikkei 225 Index closed at 45,300.30, down from earlier highs, reflecting a mixed performance across sectors [9] - Market heavyweight SoftBank Group gained almost 2%, while Fast Retailing declined more than 2% [10] Economic Indicators - Japan's manufacturing activity contracted to 48.4 in September, marking the 14th contraction in 15 months and the steepest decline since March [13] - The services PMI edged down to 53.0, indicating the lowest figure since June despite ongoing growth in the services sector [14]