Asian Markets Mixed Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets are also trading mixed on Thursday, as traders remain cautious ahead of the report on first quarter US GDP data that could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at next week's US Fed monetary policy meeting, but traders will look for clues about the possibility of future rate cuts. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

The Australian market is closed for Anzac day holiday on Thursday. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Thursday.

Giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is plunging below the 37,800 level, with losses across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,818.11, down 641.97 points or 1.67 percent, after hitting a low of 37,772.11 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing more than 3 percent and Honda is declining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are declining more than 3 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining more than 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Canon is plunging more than 7 percent, Sony is losing almost 1 percent, Panasonic is declining more than 4 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is slipping almost 4 percent.

Among other major losers, J. Front Retailing, Isetan Mitsukoshi and Hino Motors are losing more than 4 percent each, while Komatsu, CyberAgent, Nikon and Japan Exchange are declining almost 4 percent each. Socionext, Mitsubishi Electric and Credit Saison are down more than 3 percent each, while Lasertec is slipping almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Renesas Electronics is gaining almost 4 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 155 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China is up 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong and Malaysia are up 0.1 percent each. Singapore and Indonesia are down 0.3 percent each, while South Korea and Taiwan are down 0.9 percent each. New Zealand is closed for Anzac Day holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday following the strong upward move seen to start the week. After moving to the upside early in the session, the major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Dow edged down 42.77 points or 0.1 percent to 38,460.92, the S&P 500 crept up 1.08 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,071.63 and the Nasdaq inched up 16.11 points or 0.1 percent to 15,712.75.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved modestly lower on the day. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for demand and on easing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.55 at $82.81 a barrel.