CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly u7lower on Thursday following the weak lead from Wall Street amid uncertainty over the feasibility of the Trump administration's highly anticipated tax reform plan unveiled overnight. The plan offered no specifics on how the tax cuts would be paid for without increasing the budget deficit.
Investors are also treading cautiously ahead of the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank's monetary policy decisions due later in the day.
The Australian market is flat in choppy trades following the modest losses overnight on Wall Street as investors digested the Trump administration's tax reform plan and local corporate earnings results.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 2.1 points or 0.04 percent to 5,914.10, off a high of 5,915.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 1.20 points or 0.02 percent to 5,938.00.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is declining more than 1 percent.
South32 cut its full-year production outlook for several commodities after reporting a decline in March quarter production and also said it pursuing exploration opportunities for base metals in four countries. The mining company's shares are down 0.5 percent.
Oil stocks are also weak as crude oil prices were flat overnight. Santos is losing more than 7 percent, while Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are down more than 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mixed. Newcrest Mining is declining more than 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is rising more than 3 percent.
Newcrest Mining maintained its full-year gold output forecast despite a 2.6 percent decline in production during the March quarter.
The big four banks are modestly higher. ANZ Banking, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are advancing in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent.
Ten Network reported a first-half loss on lower revenues and an impairment charge and warned that it expects to report a full-year underlying loss. The commercial broadcaster's shares are falling almost 16 percent.
Wesfarmers said that supermarket giant Coles' food and liquor sales rose 1.2 percent in the third quarter. The company's shares are down more than 1 percent.
On the economic front, Australia will provide first-quarter figures for import and export prices today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7469, down from US$0.7495 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is modestly lower following the weak cues from Wall Street after the Trump administration unveiled its highly anticipated tax plan.
Investors are also cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision due later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate at -0.1 percent, although other stimulus may be added.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 49.21 points or 0.26 percent to 19,240.22, off a low of 19,199.59 in early trades.
The major exporters are mixed. Panasonic is edging down less than 0.1 percent and Toshiba is lower by almost 3 percent, while Canon is rising more than 3 percent and Sony is adding almost 1 percent.
Automaker Toyota is down 0.5 percent and Honda is losing 0.3 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down less than 0.1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing 0.4 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is lower by 0.4 percent and JXTG Holdings is declining 0.4 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Tokuyama Corp. is rising almost 7 percent, while Showa Denko and Furukawa Electric are advancing almost 4 percent each. On the flip side, Yahoo Japan is losing more than 10 percent, Rakuten is declining 5 percent and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is lower by 4 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 111 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan are all down with modest losses. New Zealand is marginally higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly lower on Wednesday after the Trump administration unveiled the president's highly anticipated tax reform plan that includes significant reductions in both individual and corporate income tax rates.
Trump's proposal would lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from the current 35 percent and also eliminate the so-called 'Death Tax' on estates.
The Dow dipped 21.03 points or 0.1 percent to 20,975.09, the Nasdaq edged down 0.27 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,025.23 and the S&P 500 slipped 1.16 points or 0.1 percent to 2,387.45.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures wobbled Wednesday, bouncing back from early losses when the government reported a surprisingly large build in U.S. oil inventories. June WTI oil edged up $0.06 or 0.1 percent to $49.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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