CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates after the release of some weaker than expected U.S. economic data, which raised concerns about the strength of the economy. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
In a post on Truth Social immediately after the weak reports were released, US President Donald Trump once again urged Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. 'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! 'Too Late' Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump said. 'He is unbelievable!!!'
The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 8,550 level, with by weakness in energy stocks partially offset gains in iron ore miners and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 6.40 points or 0.08 percent to 8,535.40, after touching a high of 8,567.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 3.90 points or 0.04 percent to 8,766.30. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Mineral Resources is surging 7.5 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Origin Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is down more than 2 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Xero and Appen are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each. Zip is gaining almost 3 percent is adding almost 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.4 percent each, while Westpac is edging up 0.2 percent.
Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Newmont are edging down 0.2 percent and Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent. is edging up 0.5 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.
In other news, shares in IperionX are soaring more than 26 percent after being awarded a contract worth up to US$99 million by the US Department of Defence to supply titanium components and parts.
Shares in Tyro payments are tumbling almost 10 percent after announcing the shocking exit of chief executive Jon Davey after accepting the top job at a private-equity backed business.
Shares in Lynas are surging more than 10 percent after major European car makers said China's rare earths export controls were disrupting its supplier networks.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, reversing some of the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 37,700 level, with weakness in automakers, exporters and financial stocks partially offset by gains in technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,658.46, down 88.99 points or 0.24 percent, after touching a high of 37,732.88 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 2 percent and Honda is also declining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is surging more than 5 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing almost 2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are declining 1.5 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining 1.5 percent, Panasonic is slipping more than 2 percent and Canon is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among other major losers, Sumitomo Pharma is declining more than 6 percent, while Subaru, BayCurrent and Mazda Motor are losing almost 4 percent each. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, ZOZO and Daiichi Sankyo are down more than 3 percent each, while TDK, Shimizu, IHI, Recruit Holdings, ENEOS Holdings and Tokuyama are declining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Lasertec is gaining more than 4 percent, while Renesas Electronics and Kyowa Kirin are adding almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 142 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 2.1 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.9 percent each. China is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached their best closing levels in well over three months. While the Dow dipped 91.90 points or 0.2 percent to 42,427.74, the S&P 500 inched up 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,970.81 and the Nasdaq rose 61.53 points or 0.3 percent to 19,460.49.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices moved to the downside during trading on Wednesday, reflecting easing supply concerns as rains slowed the growth of blazes that had disrupted Canadian crude production. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery fell $0.56 or 0 .9 percent to $62.85 a barrel.
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