CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautions amid concerns about the Middle East conflict intensifying after U.S. retaliation to Iran's downing of a U.S. helicopter and Iran's counter-attacks delayed an amicable U.S.-Iran peace deal and an early reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained shut for nearly three-and-a-half months, impacting crude oil prices and tightening global energy supplies.
The Australian market is trading notably 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 8,650 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 39.30 points or 0.45 percent to 8,614.00, after hitting a low of 8,555.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 46.00 points or 0.52 percent to 8,811.00. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are declining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is slipping more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 4 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Santos and Woodside Energy are advancing almost 3 percent each, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is slipping 2.5 percent and Xero is down more than 2 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are losing almost 2 percent each. Appen is flat
Among the big four banks, Westpac, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are all losing almost 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 4 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 4 percent, Newmont is tumbling almost 5 percent, Genesis Minerals is slipping almost 6 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding more than 5 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.700 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 63,250 level, with weakness across most sectors led by automaker, financial and exporter stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 63,239.52, down 939.30 points or 1.46 percent, after hitting a low of 62,335.75 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 3 percent and Honda is declining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 2 percent, Screen Holdings is edging down 0.3 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining almost 3 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 4 percent and Sony is slipping more than 1 percent, while Panasonic and Canon are losing almost 2 percent each.
Among other major losers, IHI and Fujikura are tumbling almost 6 percent each, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries is slipping more than 5 percent. JTEKT, Disco, Astellas Pharma, NSK, Sumitomo Pharma, ARCHION and Lasertec are all declining more than 4 percent each, while Isuzu Motors, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Olympus and Tokyo Electric Power are losing almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, Toppan Holdings is jumping almost 9 percent, Ajinomoto is surging more than 6 percent and Kioxia Holdings is advancing more than 4 percent, while Ibiden, Inpex and Nikon are gaining almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 160 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan are tumbling between 1.6 and 2.3 percent each, while New Zealand and China Singapore and Malaysia are lower by 0.2 and 0.5 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 1.1 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Wednesday but came under considerable selling pressure over the course of the trading day. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside.
The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow tumbled 953.33 points or 1.9 percent to 49,918.78, the Nasdaq plunged 509.32 points or 2 percent to 25,169.50 and the S&P 500 slumped 119.66 points or 1.6 percent to 7,266.99.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1 percent.
Crude oil prices surged Wednesday on concerns about the gulf conflict intensifying further after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks, keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $2.26 or 2.56 percent at $90.46 per barrel.
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