Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious following fresh attacks with the U.S. military shooting down four Iranian drones and striking a control center in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas to prevent a fifth drone launch. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

However, continued optimism about a potential peace deal between the US and Iran to end the Middle East war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz saw crude oil prices tumble.

The Australian market is trading significantly lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,650 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 72.90 points or 0.84 percent to 8,644.80, after hitting a low of 8,626.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 72.40 points or 0.81 percent to 8,872.80. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent, Fortescue is losing more than 1 percent, BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is down almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is down more than 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.3 percent, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent, Zip is slipping almost 1 percent, Xero is down more than 1 percent and Appen is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are all losing more than 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are declining more than 3 percent each, while Newmont is tumbling more than 5 percent, Genesis Minerals is slipping more than 4 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding more than 6 percent.

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

The Japanese market is trading slightly higher in choppy trading on Thursday after opening in the green, extending the slight gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 65,000 mark, with gains in automaker stocks partially offset by weakness in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 65,039.78, up 40.37 points or 0.06 percent, after hitting a low of 64,468.56 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are declining almost 2 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is declining more than 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent and Canon is edging up 0.5 percent, while Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent and Sony is declining more than 3 percent.

Among other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is skyrocketing almost 18 percent, Murata Manufacturing is soaring more than 12 percent, TDK is surging almost 8 percent, J. Front Retailing is advancing almost 5 percent and Sumco is gaining more than 4 percent, while Kyocera, Taiheiyo Cement and Omron are adding more than 3 percent each. SMC, Seiko Epson, Hitachi and Pan Pacific International are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Furukawa Electric and Fuji Electric are tumbling more than 7 percent each, while Sumitomo Metal Mining is slipping more than 5 percent and BayCurrent is sliding almost 5 percent. SHIFT is losing more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Socionext, Nippon Electric Glass, Konami Group, Toyota Tsusho and Renesas Electronics are declining more than 3 percent each. IHI, Japan Post Holdings and Tokyo Gas are down almost 3 percent each.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.9 percent, while China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. New Zealand and Taiwan are up 0.1 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Indonesia remains closed for Hari Raya Haji holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday but managed to end the day modestly higher. The Dow led the way higher, reaching a new record closing high along with the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

The major averages all ended the day in positive territory. The Dow climbed 182.60 points or 0.4 percent to 60,644.28, the Nasdaq inched up 18.55 points or 0.1 percent to 26,674.73 and the S&P 500 crept up 1.24 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,520.36.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday as investors continue to anticipate a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, despite the hard line from the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $5.05 or 5.38 percent at $88.84 per barrel.