Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on continuing concerns over the valuation of technology stocks, mirroring the steep drop on tech-heavy Nasdaq. Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of report on US consumer price inflation later in the day, which could impact the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,600 level, with weakness in gold miners and technology stocks as well as a mixed performance in most other sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 27.40 points or 0.32 percent to 8,557.80, after hitting a low of 8,553.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 32.10 points or 0.36 percent to 8,842.10. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 2 percent, BHP Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is adding almost 1 percent, while Fortescue is edging down 0.3 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is advancing almost 2 percent and Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, WiseTech Global is edging down 0.3 percent and Zip declining almost 3 percent, while Appen and Xero are down more than 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is down more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is slipping 2.5 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.5 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Boss Energy are tumbling almost 28 percent after revealing that the Honeymoon project review deviates significantly from 2021 forecasts, affecting future production and costs due to less optimal mineralisation.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.660 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is significantly lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 49,000 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and technology stocks as well as a mixed performance in most other sectors.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,006.89, down 505.39 points or 1.02 percent, after hitting a low of 48,643.78 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent, while Honda is losing almost 2 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are losing almost 2 percent each, while Canon and Sony are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among other major losers, Japan Steel Works is tumbling almost 6 percent, Asahi Group is slipping almost 5 percent and Renesas Electronics is declining almost 4 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fujikura, Sumco and Lasertec are losing more than 3 percent each. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Disco are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Keisei Electric Railway is gaining more than 3 percent, while Nissui, Nichirei and SHIFT are adding almost 3 percent each.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 1.1 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.2 percent. China and Singapore are relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks moved to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but quickly came under pressure after ending yesterday's choppy session narrowly mixed. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and firmly into negative territory.

The major averages saw further downside going into the end of the day, closing just off their lows of the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 418.14 points or 1.8 percent to 22,693.32, the S&P 500 slumped 78.83 points or 1.2 percent to 6,721.43 and the Dow slid 228.29 points or 0.5 percent to 47,885.97.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices rebounded on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.70 or 1.3 percent to end at $55.97 per barrel.