CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are a sea of red on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data revived bets on interest rate hikes by the US Fed that prompted a sell-off in technology and semiconductor stocks on concerns of rising borrowing costs amid heightening investments in artificial intelligence. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
Crude oil prices are also spiking as the recent escalation in attacks on regional energy infrastructure and tanker traffic in the Middle East is threatening to derail a recovery in oil supply.
A container ship sank in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after being hit by unidentified projectiles, while Iran-backed Houthi forces continued missile and drone attacks across Saudi Arabia. Russia also accused Ukraine of striking two oil refineries on Wednesday.
The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,750 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy and financial stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 7.10 points or 0.08 percent to 8,720.80, after hitting a low of 8,641.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 24.20 points or 0.27 percent to 8,844.80. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing more than 4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is slipping almost 4 percent and Fortescue is declining almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding almost 2 percent and Santos is advancing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, while Zip, Appen and Xero are tumbling almost 6 percent each. WiseTech Global is gaining more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 2 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.4 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping almost 3 percent and Newmont is declining more than 2 percent.
In economic news, Australia posted a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That missed forecasts for 4.6 percent and was unchanged from the August reading following a revision from 4.6 percent.
The Australian economy lost 39.3K jobs last month versus expectations for an increase of 19.6K jobs following the downwardly revised addition of 29.3K in the previous month (originally 39.5K). The participation rate came in at 66.8 percent, missing forecasts for 67.0 percent, which would have been unchanged.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.695 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous five sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 4.8 percent to below the 64,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at the day's low of 64,489.06, down 3,255.23 points or 4.81 percent, after touching a high of 66,929.30 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is plunging more than 9 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is flat and Honda is edging down 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is plunging almost 13 percent, Tokyo Electron is tumbling almost 7 percent and Screen Holdings is sliding more than 8 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is declining more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing more than 2 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 4 percent and Panasonic is slipping more than 6 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 1 percent. Canon is flat.
Among other major losers, Ibiden is plunging almost 13 percent, while Kioxia Holdings and Sumco are tumbling more than 10 percent each. Kokusai Electric, Lasertec and Fujikura are slipping almost 10 percent each, while Furukawa Electric is sliding more than 9 percent and Mitsui Kinzoku are declining more than 8 percent. Ebara and JX Advanced Metals are losing almost 8 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing and Yaskawa Electric are down more than 7 percent each. Ebara Corp.
Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is soaring almost 11 percent and Ryohin Keikaku is surging almost 8 percent, while Otsuka Holdings and Takeda Pharmaceutical are advancing almost 4 percent each. Astellas Pharma, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Oriental Land and J. Front Retailing are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Pan Pacific International and Shionogi & Co. are adding almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent on month in August, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,069.8 billion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.2 percent following the 3.7 percent decline in July. On a yearly basis, orders jumped 18.6 percent - again surpassing expectations for 15.7 percent and up from 11.2 percent in the previous month.
For the third quarter of 2026, orders are forecast to add 4.9 percent on quarter and 19.9 percent on year. The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan sank 3.7 percent on month but surged 26.1 percent on year in August.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is plunging 7.2 percent, Malaysia is tumbling 5.2 percent and Taiwan is sliding 2.9 percent, while China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia are lower by between 1.0 and 1.6 percent each. New Zealand is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a more significant move to the downside during trading on Wednesday after ending yesterday's choppy trading day modestly lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a particularly steep drop on the day.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but still closed in the red. The Nasdaq tumbled 511.51 points or 1.9 percent to 26,692.87 and the S&P 500 slumped 86.51 points or 1.1 percent to 7,7718.94. The narrower Dow posted a much more modest loss, with the blue chip index edging down 48.62 points or 0.1 percent to 51,621.48.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices spiked on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency warned that the recent escalation in attacks on regional energy infrastructure and tanker traffic in the Middle East is threatening to derail a recovery in oil supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery climbed $1.20 or 1.3 percent to $95.34 a barrel.
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