CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on spiking crude oil prices after new attacks in the Middle East stalled the signing of a U.S.-Iran peace agreement, delaying the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global energy market and trade. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and conducted 'self-defense' strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran.
However, reports suggest that the U.S. and Iranian negotiating teams were inching closer to sign a MoU, with a draft awaiting U.S. President Donald Trump's approval. Trump reportedly wanted a few edits made to the contents of the proposal centering on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear programs.
Trump also announced that he had secured a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and affirmed that both nations have agreed to halt attacks on each other.
As the gulf war entered day number 97, expectations on a positive signal on a U.S.-Iran agreement diminished after reports of fresh military strikes in the Middle East.
The Australian market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,700 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 123.50 points or 1.41 percent to 8,662.20, after hitting a low of 8,661.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 121.80 points or 1.35 percent to 8,895.40. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is declining more than 4 percent and Mineral Resources is down more than 1 percent, while BHP Group and Fortescue are losing more than 3 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling more than 6 percent, Appen is slipping more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent, Xero are down almost 3 percent and Zip is sliding 3.5 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac is declining almost 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are losing more than 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 5 percent and Newmont is down almost 1 percent, while Genesis Minerals and Resolute Mining are slipping almost 3 percent each.
In other news, shares in Treasury Wine Estates are surging almost 10 percent after an Investor Day update revealed a strategic transformation aiming to become a more focused, simpler, and financially stronger wine business through a program called Ascent through cutting costs, simplifying operations, reshaping its supply chain and strengthening its balance sheet.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.713 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, reversing the sharp gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 67,100 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and exporter stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 67,101.83, down 1,300.30 points or 1.90 percent, after hitting a low of 66,920.80 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling more than 8 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 1 percent and Honda is edging down 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings are declining almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are losing almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 3 percent, Canon is losing more than 1 percent, Panasonic is tumbling almost 5 percent and Sony is slipping more than 2 percent.
Among other major lower, Mercari, Socionext, Fujikura and Ibiden are tumbling more than 6 percent each, while Toppan Holdings is slipping almost 6 percent. Daiichi Sankyo, Furukawa Electric, AGC and Sumitomo Metal Mining are sliding more than 4 percent each, while Yaskawa Electric and Nomura Research Institute are declining almost 4 percent each. Shin-Etsu Chemical, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Tokyo Electric Power are losing more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Disco is advancing more than 4 percent and Konica Minolta is gaining almost 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Isuzu Motors are adding almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Indonesia are tumbling 3.0 and 2.2 percent, respectively. Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are lower by between 1.1 and 1.3 percent each, while New Zealand and China are down 0.4 percent each. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is up 0.7 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Dow showing a notable slump.
The Dow showed a downward move going into the end of the day, closing down 620.72 points or 1.2 percent at 50,687.07. The Nasdaq also slid 239.93 points or 0.9 percent to 26,853,98, while the S&P 500 fell 56.10 points or 0.7 percent to 7,553.68.
The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday as fresh military strikes in the Middle East renew war concerns as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked for oil and energy trade. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $2.31 or 2.46 percent at $96.07 per barrel.
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