CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are lower on Thursday, with some of the markets slipping into negative territory after opening higher following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors remained cautious as they continued to keep an eye on the U.S. bond market amid a further inversion of the yield curve and on uncertainty regarding U.S.-China trade talks.
The Australian market is currently trading flat after opening higher.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 1.60 points or 0.02 percent to 6,499.00, after touching a high of 6,508.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 2.80 points or 0.04 percent to 6,598.00. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday.
In the oil sector, Santos is higher by almost 2 percent, while Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are rising more than 1 percent each, after crude oil prices rose overnight.
The big four banks - ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac - are higher in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 1 percent. and BHP Billiton is edging up 0.1 percent, while Rio Tinto is down 0.3 percent.
Gold miners are mixed after gold prices edged lower overnight. Newcrest Mining is adding almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is down 0.2 percent.
Ramsay Health Care reported a more than 40 percent surge in full-year net profit and raised its dividend. The private hospital operator's shares are higher by almost 1 percent.
Woolworths Group said its full-year profit from continuing operations rose 7 percent and increased its final dividend. However, the supermarket chain's shares are declining more than 1 percent.
Crown Resorts said that a planned $1.2 billion stake sale by casino mogul James Packer to Melco Resorts and Entertainment would be delayed as Australian regulators complete a review of the deal. The gaming and entertainment group's shares are down 0.3 percent.
On the economic front, Australia is scheduled to release second-quarter figures for capital expenditures today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6739, compared to $0.6738 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market slipped into negative territory after opening higher.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 73.33 points or 0.36 percent to 20,406.09, after touching a high of 20,520.68 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday.
The major exporters are lower despite a weaker yen. Sony is down 0.1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is lower by 0.2 percent, Canon is losing 0.7 percent and, Panasonic is declining almost 1 percent.
In the auto sector, Honda Motor is lower by almost 1 percent and Toyota Motor is edging down 0.1 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is rising 0.4 percent, while Tokyo Electron is declining 1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is adding 0.6 percent and Fast Retailing is rising 0.5 percent.
Among oil stocks, Inpex is lower by 0.2 percent, while Japan Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Among the major gainers, Tokuyama Corp. is gaining almost 4 percent, while Japan Steel Works, Idemitsu Kosan and Sumco Corp. are all higher by more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, Recruit Holdings is losing 7 percent, Unitika is lower by almost 5 percent and Nissan Chemical is declining more than 2 percent.
In economic news, Japan will provide July numbers for loans and discounts today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 105 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan are also lower, while Indonesia is edging higher.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant turnaround over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after coming under pressure early in the session. Energy stocks helped to lead the markets back to the upside, benefiting from a notable increase by the price of crude oil. Bond yields also climbed off their worst levels of the session, although they remained negative.
While the Dow jumped 258.20 points or 1 percent to 26,036.10, the Nasdaq rose 29.94 points or 0.4 percent to 7,856.88 and the S&P 500 climbed 18.78 points or 0.7 percent to 2,887.94.
The major European markets finished mixed on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday to extend gains from the previous session after industry data showed a drawdown in U.S. crude inventories. WTI crude futures rose $0.85 to $55.78 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
