Asian stock markets are trading lower on Thursday, following the mostly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, on sinking crude oil prices and U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan. Traders await the upcoming monetary policy announcements from the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank for directional cues as inflation worries persisted. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
Traders also remain concerned about the coronavirus infections in the region, which is hindering economic activity.
The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Thursday, giving up the slight gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, following the mostly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, with mining and energy stocks dragging the market amid slumping commodity prices.
The Reserve bank of Australia is set to respond to the higher inflation figures that rocked investor confidence on Wednesday. However, the inflation figures are still within the RBA's target range.
Traders also look at the domestic coronavirus situation, particularly in Victoria where COVID-19 restrictions are being relaxed despite reporting 1,923 new locally acquired cases and a record 25 deaths on Wednesday. NSW has reported 293 new local cases of COVID-19 and two deaths.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 38.70 points or 0.52 percent to 7,410.00, after hitting a low of 7,404.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 39.90 points or 0.51 percent to 7,718.10. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are losing almost 1 percent each, while OZ Minerals is declining almost 3 percent and Mineral Resources is down more than 2 percent. Meanwhile, Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 1 percent after reporting record shipments for the September quarter.
Oil stocks are lower. Origin Energy and Woodside Petroleum are losing almost 2 percent each, while Santos, Beach Energy and Oil Search are down almost 1 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent. National Australia Bank is flat. ANZ Banking is adding more than 1 percent after reporting a 65 percent surge in annual profit and more than doubling its dividend.
In the tech space, Xero is edging up 0.5 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.2 percent, while Appen is declining more than 1 percent, Afterpay is losing more than 2 percent and Zip is down almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.2 percent, while Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.5 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
Shares in Whitehaven Coal are plunging almost 10 after global coal prices dropped sharply on China's multifaceted approach to ease its energy crisis.
In economic news, Export prices in Australia were up 6.2 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - slowing from the 13.2 percent jump in Q2. Import prices rose 5.4 percent on quarter, accelerating from 1.9 percent in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, export prices skyrocketed 41.0 percent and import prices jumped 6.4 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.751 on Thursday.
The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 above the 28,800 level, following the mostly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders remain cautious ahead of the general elections this weekend and the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of Japan later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 28,825.62, down 272.62 points or 0.94 percent, after hitting a low of 28,693.06 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent, while Honda is edging up 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Screen Holdings is surging more than 9 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Sony is down 1 percent, Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent, while Canon is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among the other major losers, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is plummeting 15 percent, Fujitsu is falling almost 10 percent, Fanuc is shedding more than 8 percent, M3 is losing more than 6 percent and Toho Zinc is down almost 5 percent, while Idemitsu Kosan, Japan Exchange Group, Mitsubishi Logistics and Tokuyama are declining more than 4 percent each. T&D Holdings, Daiwa Securities and Kansai Electric Power are slipping almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, Shin-Etsu Chemical is gaining more than 4 percent.
In economic news, the total value of retail sales in Japan was down 0.6 percent on year in September, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Thursday - coming in at 12.041 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an annual decline of 2.3 percent following the 3.2 percent yearly drop in August. Wholesale sales were up 8.7 percent on year at 34,386 trillion yen, while sales from large-scale retailers jumped an annual 15.5 percent to 11.187 trillion yen. For the third quarter of 2021, the value or retail sales eased 0.4 percent on year at 36.794 trillion yen.
The Bank of Japan will also wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Thursday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at -0.1 percent, although other means of stimulus may be introduced.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-113 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, China is losing 1.0 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before coming under pressure in the latter part of the session. The Dow and the S&P 500 slid firmly into negative territory, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day nearly flat.
After climbing as much as 0.8 percent, the Nasdaq finished the session up by just 0.12 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 15,235.84. Meanwhile, the Dow slumped 266.19 points or 0.7 percent to 35,490.69 and the S&P 500 fell 23.11 points or 0.5 percent to 4,551.68.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both fell by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices sank Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Oil prices were also weighed down by prospects of Iran freeing itself from U.S. sanctions and start selling oil to major importers again. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December were down by $1.99 or 2.3 percent at $82.66 a barrel.
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