CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as tumbling crude oil prices after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the inking of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement helped ease regional tensions and global inflationary pressure. More tankers stranded in the Gulf since the start of the Iran war were beginning to move through the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,800k level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners, energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 32.00 points or 0.36 percent to 8,776.40, after hitting a low of 8,756.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.70 points or 0.40 percent to 8,976.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are declining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 3 percent. Fortescue is edging up 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is tumbling more than 5 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.1 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are losing almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is surging almost 6 percentZip is gaining almost 1 percent, while Appen is edging down 0.3 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 4 percent and Xero is down more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Westpac are declining more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing more than 3 percent and Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are losing almost 2 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is tumbling almost 6 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding almost 5 percent.
In other news, shares in Judo Capital are plummeting 38 percent after the lender downgraded its profit guidance for FY26 amid a deterioration in asset quality that has lifted provisioning charges.
Shares in Lendlease Group are in a trading halt, pending further updates from the company.
In economic news, household spending in Australia rose 1.3 percent on month in May 2026, rebounding from a 1.1 percent decline in April. On an annual basis, household spending increased 5.5 percent.
Meanwhile, employment in Australia rose by 40,300 to 14.74 million in May 2026, rebounding from a revised decline of 40,700 in the previous month and surpassing market expectations for a 30,000 increase. It marked the strongest employment gain since December. The employment-to-population ratio edged up to 63.8 percent from 63.7 percent, marking its first increase in six months. The participation rate ticked up to 66.7 percent from 66.6 precent.
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 4.4 percent in May, from April's more than four-year high of 4.5 percent, in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed fell by 18,300 to 671,300 from 689,600 in April. The participation rate edged up to 66.7 percent from a downwardly revised 66.6 percent in April, matching market estimates. The underemployment rate inched up to 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.689 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, reversing the losses in the two previous sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 3.9 percent to above the 71,850 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks amid renewed optimism around the artificial intelligence sector.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 71,854.88, up 2,679.91 points or 3.87 percent, after touching a high of 71,886.94 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent and Honda is adding more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is soaring more than 12 percent, Screen Holdings is surging almost 7 percent and Tokyo Electron is jumping more than 8 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.4 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 1 percent and Sony is down almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Canon are gaining more than 1 percent each.
Among other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is soaring almost 9 percent and Kioxia Holdings is jumping almost 8 percent, while Disco and Murata Manufacturing are surging more than 6 percent each. Ajinomoto is advancing almost 6 percent and Minebea Mitsumi is gaining more than 5 percent, while Resonac Holdings, J. Front Retailing and Seiko Epson are adding more than 4 percent each. Toppan Holdings, Konica Minolta and Sapporo Holdings are up almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, Sharp is tumbling almost 7 percent, while MS&AD Insurance and Japan Steel Works are slipping almost 4 percent each. Inpex is losing more than 3 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are declining almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 161 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 5.1 percent, while New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. Hong Kong and Malaysia are down 1.2 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Singapore is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks were unable to hold onto early gains on Wednesday, slumping in the second half of the day to finish mixed. Profit taking was largely responsible for the late fade, although investors remain spooked about the possibility of an interest rate hike following recent uncooperative inflation data.
The Dow climbed 182.06 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 51,848.90, while the NASDAQ slumped 110.40 points or 0.43 percent to close at 25,476.63 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.24 points or 0.10 percent to end at 7,358.22.
The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. The UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.31 percent and Germany's DAX moved up 0.54 percent, while France's CAC 40 slipped 0.62 percent.
Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday as shipping traffic picks up across the Strait of Hormuz after its reopening following last week's U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. WTI Crude Oil for August month delivery was last seen trading down by $2.87 or 3.92 percent at $70.34 per barrel.
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