CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid the resurgence of Middle East tensions and the resulting recent spike in crude oil prices, fueling inflation concerns. Fairly tame US consumer price data eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates as inflation rose in line with estimates. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
Intermediaries are sparing no efforts to revive the stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks. Pakistan announced initiating efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table.
The prospects of an early reopening of the Strait of Hormuz diminished after Iran demanded monetary compensation for war-inflicted damages. Iran warned that it would not reopen the Strait if the U.S. fails to comply with its demands.
The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 9,200 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 46.70 points or 0.51 percent to 9,162.70, after hitting a low of 9,141.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 47.10 points or 0.50 percent to 9,357.60. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.3 percent, Rio Tinto is losing more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, while Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent, Beach energy is declining almost 3 percent and Santos is losing more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is surging almost 5 percent on upbeat results.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent and Zip is declining almost 3 percent, while WiseTech Global is gaining more than 1 percent, Xero is edging up 0.2 percent and Appen is advancing more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 3 percent, Westpac is edging up 0.4 percent and National Australia Bank is adding almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 3 percent.
Among gold miners, Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent, Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping more than 2 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each.
In other news, shares in Cleanaway are jumping almost 16 percent after the waste management company announced it had received a $9.4 billion takeover bid from Swedish private equity group EQT Infrastructure.
Shares in ASX Ltd are surging more than 12 percent after reporting a 5 percent rise in full-year underlying profit.
Shares in IAG slipped more than 6 percent after posting a nearly 25 per cent fall in net profit in its full-year results.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.705 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 68,600 level, with gains in technology and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in automaker stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 68,609.92, up 1,085.86 points or 1.61 percent, after touching a high of 68,799.71 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent and Honda is down almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is surging almost 5 percent, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 2 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 3 percent, while Sony is losing more than 2 percent and Canon is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Toppan Holdings is skyrocketing more than 14 percent and Taiyo Yuden is soaring almost 10 percent, while Ibiden and Murata Manufacturing are jumping almost 9 percent each. Kioxia Holdings is surging more than 8 percent and Tokuyama is advancing more than 7 percent, while NGK, Lasertec, Sumco and Sumitomo Electric Industries are gaining almost 5 percent each. Disco is adding more than 4 percent, while Mitsui Kinzoku, Omron and TDK are all up more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, SHIFT is declining more than 4 percent and NEXON is slipping more than 3 percent, while Fanuc and Trend Micro are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 7.2 percent on year in July, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 7.4 percent and down from the upwardly revised 7.3 percent gain in June (originally 7.1 percent).
On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.1 percent versus forecasts for a gain of 0.6 percent following the upwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in the previous month (originally 0.4 percent). Export prices were down 0.6 percent on month and up 10.1 percent on year, the central bank said, while import prices gained 0.3 percent on month and 17.7 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 4.2 percent, while New Zealand, China and Taiwan are higher by between 0.5 and 1.1 percent each. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks remained mostly positive throughout the trading day on Wednesday after advancing early in the session, although buying interest appeared somewhat subdued. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished the day higher, partly offsetting the weakness seen to start the week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 143.04 points or 0.5 percent to 26,588.49 and the S&P 500 rose 20.30 points or 0.3 percent to 7,748.50. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow spent most of the day lingering near the unchanged line before closing down 21.58 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 53,770.27.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices inched lower after Pakistan announced initiating efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.22 or 0.2 percent at $82.98 per barrel.
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