CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Thursday following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve dashed investors' hopes of a near-term interest rate cut. In addition, weak commodity prices weighed on resources stocks. The markets in Japan and China are closed for public holidays.
The Australian market is declining following the negative cues from Wall Street. Financial stocks are among the major decliners, after National Australia Bank said it has slashed its dividend and wealth manager AMP reported large cash outflows in the first quarter.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 34.50 points or 0.54 percent to 6,341.40, after touching a low of 6,323.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 32.50 points or 0.50 percent to 6,434.00.
National Australia Bank reported a 4 percent increase in statutory profit and 7 percent increase in cash profit for the first half of the year, but slashed its interim dividend by 16 cents. The bank's shares are declining 0.7 percent.
Among the other major banks, ANZ Banking is losing almost 3 percent, Westpac is losing 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent.
Shares of AMP are losing more than 5 percent after the wealth manager announced the appointment of John Patrick Moorhead as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Gordon Lefevre, ahead of the wealth manager's annual general meeting later today. The company also reported a nearly nine-fold increase in cash outflows at its wealth management unit for the first quarter.
In the mining space, Fortescue Metals is lower by more than 2 percent, while BHP Group and Rio Tinto are declining more than 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is down 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is declining 0.5 percent after gold prices edged lower overnight.
Oil stocks are also weak after crude oil prices slipped overnight. Oil Search is losing more than 2 percent, while Woodside Petroleum and Santos are declining more than 1 percent each.
Woolworths reported a 4 percent increase in third-quarter grocery sales, while total group sales from continuing operations grew 5 percent. The supermarket giant's shares are advancing 1 percent.
Wesfarmers has made a A$776 million bid for lithium miner Kidman Resources, which has a 50 percent stake in the Mt Holland lithium project. Shares of Wesfarmers are down 0.3 percent, while Kidman's shares are gaining more than 42 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S dollar on Thursday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7016, down from $0.7049 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are also lower, while South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan are modestly higher. The markets in Japan and China are closed for holidays.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dashed traders' hopes for a near-term interest rate cut. In his post-monetary policy meeting press conference, Powell said the Fed sees 'transitory factors' contributing to recent low inflation readings. The Fed maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 2.25 to 2.50 percent for the third consecutive meeting.
The Dow slid 162.77 points or 0.6 percent to 26,430.14, the Nasdaq fell 45.75 points or 0.6 percent to 8,049.64 and the S&P 500 dropped 22.10 points or 0.8 percent to 2,923.73.
U.K. stocks moved to the downside, while the other major European markets were closed on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices declined Wednesday after data showed a much larger than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended April 27. WTI crude oil for June delivery fell $0.31 to $63.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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