CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are a sea of red on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid escalating trend in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran as they continued to attack each other for the seventh consecutive day, with speculation of the U.S. joining Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
The US Fed also announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Fed officials still seem to expect to two interest rate cuts this year.
US participation could escalate the crisis by increasing the chances of Iran's allies joining the war and prolong the conflict thus impacting the global financial and commodity markets severely.
Now, Iran has threatened to close the 39-km Strait of Hormuz which allows transport of one-sixth of global oil and one-third of world's Liquified Natural Gas. If it happens, it could spur retaliation by U.S. and its allies.
The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday after opening in the green, extending the losses 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 weakness in mining and energy stocks partially offset by some gains in financial and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 10.50 points or 0.12 percent to 8,520.70, after touching a high of 8,536.00 and a low of 8,504.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 17.00 points or 0.19 percent to 8,740.90. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is losing 1.5 percent and Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent, while Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are down more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing more than 2 percent. Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Zip is adding almost 1 percent and Appen is surging more than 8 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.5 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent, while Westpac is adding almost 2 percent. ANZ Banking is edging down 0.4 percent.
Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent, Newmont is edging down 0.1 percent, Evolution Mining is declining almost 5 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding more than 10 percent. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.3 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.648 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading notably lower on Thursday, reversing some of the gains in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 37,600 level, with weakness in automakers, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,597.16, down 287.99 points or 0.74 percent, after hitting a low of 38,492.77 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing 1.5 percent and Honda is declining more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is losing almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is down 1.5 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining 1.5 percent, Panasonic is slipping almost 2 percent and Canon is down almost 1 percent.
Among other major losers, there are no other major losers.
Conversely, Renesas Electronics is gaining almost 5 percent and Tokyo Electric Power is adding almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 1.3 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday to end the day roughly flat after moving to the upside early in the session.
While the Nasdaq inched up 25.18 points or 0.1 percent to 19,546.27, the S&P 500 edged down 1.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,980.87 and the Dow slipped 44.14 points or 0.1 percent to 42,171.66.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index decreased by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday as the Israel-Iran conflict, which began with Israeli airstrikes on June 12, entered the sixth straight day with casualties increasing on both sides. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose by $0.30 to settle at $75.15 per barrel.
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