CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday as optimism about the recent positive news regarding coronavirus vaccines was offset by data that showed U.S. weekly jobless claims unexpectedly increased amid a surge in coronavirus infections in the U.S.
The Australian market is declining following the mixed cues from Wall Street amid disappointing economic U.S. data. Investor sentiment was also dampened following news that Australian coal worth more than A$700 million is being held up at Chinese ports due to rising tensions between Australia and China.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is declining 13.30 points or 0.20 percent to 6,670.00, after falling to a low of 6,663.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 9.60 points or 0.14 percent to 6,878.60. Australian stocks closed higher for the third straight day on Wednesday.
The big four banks - National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac - are declining in a range of 0.8 percent to 1.3 percent.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are down 0.3 percent each.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower even as crude oil prices extended gains overnight. Santos is losing more than 1 percent and Oil Search is down 0.3 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is edging up 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miners are higher after gold prices edged up overnight. Evolution Mining is rising almost 2 percent and Newcrest Mining is adding almost 1 percent.
Australia's competition watchdog, the ACCC, has launched court proceedings and is seeking penalties of A$50 million from Telstra for exploiting 108 Indigenous customers by selling multiple post-paid mobile contracts to them. Shares of Telstra are adding 0.2 percent.
Australia's Bega Cheese said it has agreed to acquire all of the shares in Lion Dairy & Drinks, the Australian dairy assets of Japanese drinks giant Kirin Holdings, for A$534 million. Shares of Bega Cheese are in a trading halt.
The Japanese market recovered after a weak start and is rising despite the mixed cues from Wall Street. Investors' risk appetite remained strong amid optimism about the economic recovery due to recent positive coronavirus vaccine news.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 104.52 points or 0.40 percent to 26,401.38, after touching a low of 26,255.47 in early trades. The Japanese market closed at multi-year highs on Wednesday, but pared sharp gains made earlier in the session.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is down 0.2 percent and Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are higher by more than 1 percent each.
The major exporters are mixed as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar. Panasonic is rising almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding 0.5 percent, while Canon is declining more than 1 percent and Sony is down 0.5 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is declining more than 2 percent and Toyota is down more than 1 percent.
Australia's Bega Cheese said it has agreed to buy Lion Dairy & Drinks, the Australian dairy assets of Japanese drinks giant Kirin Holdings for A$534 million. Shares of Kirin Holdings are edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Furukawa Electric is gaining almost 5 percent, while Z Holdings and M3 are rising almost 4 percent each. Nexon Co. and Olympus Corp. are higher by more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, MS&AD Insurance, T&D Holdings, Nippon Sheet Glass and Tokio Marine are all lower by more than 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 104 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher, while Shanghai, Singapore and New Zealand are lower. Hong Kong and Malaysia are little changed.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets. Some traders looked to cash in on yesterday's gains, although recent upbeat coronavirus vaccine news kept selling pressure relatively subdued. Traders were also digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, with a report from the Labor Department showing fist-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended November 21.
While the Nasdaq rose 57.62 points or 0.5 percent to a new record closing high of 12,094.40, the Dow fell 173.77 points or 0.6 percent to 29,872.47 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.76 points or 0.2 percent to 3,629.65.
The major European markets also ended mixed on Wednesday. While the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil prices extended recent gains, and posted an over 8-month high after data showed a fall in U.S. stockpiles last week. WTI crude for January delivery climbed $0.80 or about 1.8 percent to $45.71 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX