Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders remaining cautious as the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz continues, pushing crude oil prices higher to levels not seen in four years and continuing to escalate inflationary pressures. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

The ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran has left the Strait of Hormuz blocked since the war began on February 28.

Pressured by the U.S. as well as its neighbors, Iran is preparing a revised proposal to submit to the U.S. through intermediaries. US President Donald Trump stated that the US would maintain its naval blockade on Iran until a nuclear agreement is reached.

The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous seven sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,700 level, with weakness in mining stocks partially offset by gains in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 11.70 points or 0.14 percent to 8,675.30, after hitting a low of 8,638.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 15.50 points or 0.17 percent to 8,900.20. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP Group are losing almost 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing more than 5 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent and Santos is gaining almost 21 percent each, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is advancing more than 5 percent and Xero is gaining more than 1 percent each. Appen is plummeting more than 27 percent on first-quarter sales update and guidance.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is adding almost 2 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing almost 3 percent each, while Newmont is slipping more than 1 percent, Genesis Minerals is sliding more than 5 percent and Resolute Mining is declining more than 4 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is significantly lower in post-holiday trading on Thursday, reversing some of the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 59,650 level, with weakness across most sectors led by automakers and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 59,304.62, down 612.84 points or 1.02 percent, after hitting a low of 59,100.00 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Tuesday prior to the holiday on Wednesday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is losing almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is slipping almost 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is declining almost 4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is advancing almost 3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 4 percent, while Canon is losing more than 1 percent and Sony is declining more than 3 percent.

Among other major losers, Fujitsu is tumbling almost 14 percent, Oriental Land is plummeting more than 9 percent, NEC is plunging almost 8 percent, Central Japan Railway is slipping more than 6 percent, ARCHION is sliding almost 6 percent and Astellas Pharma is declining more than 5 percent, while Isuzu Motors, East Japan Railway, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, West Japan Railway, Toyota Tsusho, Tokyo Gas, BANDAI NAMCO and Nomura Research Institute are all losing more than 4 percent each. Konami Group is down almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Sumco is jumping almost 16 percent, TDX is soaring almost 10 percent and Renesas Electronics is surging more than 9 percent, while Ajinomoto, Chubu Electric Power, Ibiden and Omron are advancing almost 5 percent each. Kioxia Holdings is gaining almost 4 percent, while Fuji Electric and Yaskawa Electric are adding more than 3 percent each. Shin-Etsu Chemical and JTEKT are up almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, retail sales in Japan increased 1.7 percent on year in March 2026, recovering from a downwardly revised 0.1 percent drop in the previous month and surpassing market expectations for a 0.8 percent gain. On a monthly basis, retail trade grew 1.3 percent, rebounding from a 2.0percent drop in February.

Japan's industrial production fell 0.5 percent on month in March 2026, missing market expectations of a 1.1 percent gain but easing from a 2.0 percent drop in the previous month. It marked the second straight decline in factory output. On an annual basis, output increased 2.3 percent, picking up from a 0.4 percent rise in February and marking the fastest pace since June 2025.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 160 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.3 and 0.8 percent each, while New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 and 0.8 percent each. China is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday following the pullback seen in the previous session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq crept up 9.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 24,673.24, the S&P 500 edged down 2.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,135.95 and the narrower Dow ended the day more firmly negative, sliding 280.12 points or 0.6 percent to 48,861.81.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices surged again on Wednesday as an end to the Middle East war still remains elusive, keeping the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in place. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $6.79 or 6.79 percent at $106.72 per barrel.