Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as the U.S. President Donald Trump's highly anticipated address to the nation on the war in the Middle East damped hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

Trump said the U.S. military goals were "nearing completion," and that Iran would be hit "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," without giving details as to when the conflict would end. He claimed the drawbacks were short-term, and urged Americans to see the conflict as an "investment".

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has penned an open letter to the people of the United States, asserting that Iran harbors "no enmity" toward ordinary Americans and warning that continued confrontation between the two countries is "more costly and futile than ever before."

The latest remarks came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned a number of U.S. tech companies with Middle East operations that they'll be considered "legitimate targets." Meanwhile, Tehran said Trump's statement on requesting a ceasefire was false and baseless.

The Australian market is trading notably higher on Thursday after opening in the green, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,600 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 65.20 points or 0.75 percent to 8,606.60, after touching a high of 8,723.30 and a low of 8,607.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 82.20 points or 0.93 percent to 8,803.40. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are declining more than 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources slipping more than 4 percent and BHP Group is losing almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 3 percent, Zip is sliding more than 8 percent, WiseTech Global is tumbling more than 5 percent, Xero is losing more than 4 percent and Appen is declining almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newmont is gaining almost 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.2 percent. Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are losing more than 3 percent each, while Genesis Minerals is slipping almost 6 percent.

In other news, shares in KMD Brands are tanking almost 55 percent after the Rip Curl and Kathmandu owner resumed trading on Thursday, following the completion of the $6.8 million institutional component of its emergency capital raising. The retail component ill open next week and is expected to raise gross proceeds of $21.1 million.

Shares in KGL Resources are skyrocketing more than 19 percent after the copper and gold project developer said it secured a US$300 million funding package towards the construction of its Jervois project in the Northern Territory.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.688 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is sharply lower on Thursday after opening in the green, reversing the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 52,750 level, with weakness across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 52,731.94, down 1,007.74 points or 1.88 percent, after touching a high of 54,258.48 and a low of 52,707.71 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent, while Honda is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 6 percent, Screen Holdings is losing more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is slipping almost 2 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent and Canon is edging down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are losing more than 1 percent each.

Among other major losers, Sumitomo Pharma is tumbling more than 10 percent, while Socionext and Taisei are sliding more than 6 percent each. Murata Manufacturing, TDK and Resonac Holdings are slipping more than 5 percent each, while SHIFT, Mitsui Kinzoku and Taiyo Yuden are losing almost 5 percent each. Alps Alpine, Ibiden, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Nomura Research Institute are declining more than 4 percent each.

Conversely, Nippon Express is advancing almost 4 percent and Keio is gaining more than 3 percent, while KDDI and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are adding almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 3.8 percent, while Taiwan and Indonesia are down 1.4 and 1.1 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.3 and 1.0 percent each. New Zealand is bucking the trend and is down 0.3 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, adding to the substantial gains posted in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain.

The major averages gave back some ground in afternoon trading after a morning rally but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 250.32 points or 1.2 percent to 21,840.95, the S&P 500 climbed 46.80 points or 0.7 percent to 6,575.32 and the Dow rose 224.23 points or 0.5 percent to 46,565.74.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index spiked by 2.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jump by 1.9 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday after Trump's comments, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and U.S. goals are not completely met. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.68 or 1.66 percent at $99.70 per barrel.