CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain concerned amid the looming threat of war in the Middle East as Iran rejected any nuclear talks under the threat, even as a massive U.S. armada nears the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is already deployed in West Asia. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran asking them to come to the negotiating table 'before it is too late.' He warned that if Iran fails to do so, a U.S. attack this time will be far worse than 2025 strikes. Iran reiterated its earlier stance that it was fully ready for any confrontation with the U.S.
Iran has also asserted 'total control' over the land, air, and underwater areas of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping transit route for oil. Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi militant groups have pledged support to Iran.
The US Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged amid elevated uncertainty about the economic outlook. CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests investors currently expect the Fed to keep rates on hold until after Fed Chair Jerome Powell steps down in May.
The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,900 level, with weakness in iron ore miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold mining and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 63.50 points or 0.71 percent to 8,870.40, after hitting a low of 8,858.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 75.70 points or 0.82 percent to 9,174.90. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent, Fortescue is down more than 1 percent, BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, Origin Energy is edging up 0.4 percent and Woodside Energy is adding almost 1 percent, while Beach energy is edging down 0.4 percent
In the tech space, WiseTech Global and Xero are slipping almost 2 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent and Zip is declining almost 4 percent. Appen is skyrocketing more than 32 percent after reporting upbeat revenues for the fourth quarter, driven by growth in its China and global businesses.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent. National Australia Bank is edging up 0.3 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining 1.5 percent, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 3 percent, Genesis Minerals is up almost 1 percent and Newmont is adding more than 2 percent. Resolute Mining is edging up 0.1 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading slightly lower in choppy session on Thursday after alternating across the unchanged line, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 53,300 level, with gains in automaker stocks and a mixed performance in most other sectors.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 53,274.71, down 84.00 points or 0.16 percent, after hitting a low of 52,990.42 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is surging more than 7 percent, while Screen Holdings is down more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing more than 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.4 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Canon and Sony are edging down 0.2 percent each.
Among other major gainers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is gaining more than 3 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is advancing almost 3 percent.
Conversely, BayCurrent is plunging more than 7 percent, SHIFT is tumbling more than 5 percent and Fujikura is slipping more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Nitori Holdings are losing almost 4 percent each. Aeon, Recruit Holdings, Lasertec, Disco and NEXON are declining more than 3 percent each, while M3, NEC and Isetan Mitsukoshi are down almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 153 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia is tumbling 8 percent and Malaysia is down 1.7 percent, while New Zealand, China, Singapore and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. Hong Kong and South Korea are relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stock indexes quickly gave back ground and spent much of the rest of Wednesday's session lingering near the unchanged line after failing to sustain an early move to the upside. The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed.
While the S&P 500 edged down 0.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,978.03, the Dow crept up 12.19 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 49,015.60 and the Nasdaq rose 40.35 points or 0.2 percent to 23,857.45.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slumped 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday as Iran rejected any nuclear talks under threat even as a massive U.S. armada nears the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.85 or 1.36 percent at $63.24 per barrel.
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