Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid a re-escalation in the Middle East conflict after a deadly attack on a Saudi oil field overnight sent crude oil prices spiking and added to concerns over supply disruptions and global inflationary pressures. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

A drone strike targeted the Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field that killed two people. Following this strike, the US ordered some personnel and family members to leave American embassies in Saudi Arabia.

Traders also remain cautious ahead of the interest rate decision by the US Fed next week, along with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. All three central banks are expected to maintain their current interest rates.

The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,800 level, with weakness across most sectors led by in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.40 points or 0.38 percent to 8,797.90, after hitting a low of 8,764.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 34.40 points or 0.38 percent to 8,922.20. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is down more than 1 percent, while Fortescue, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are declining almost 2 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is slipping almost 4 percent, Beach energy is losing more than 3 percent, Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent and Appen is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.2 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Nick Scali are plunging more than 17 percent after the retailer warned of a sharp fall in profit for the December half amid challenging retail conditions.

Shares in NextDC are surging almost 9 percent after plummeting more than 40 percent on Wednesday as it was forced to slash guidance.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is trading significantly lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 63,950 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 63,917.43, down 703.81 points or 1.09 percent, after touching a high of 63,882.77 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is flat. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent, while Honda is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.1 percent, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 3 percent and Screen Holdings is tumbling almost 6 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are declining almost 1 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.3 percent and Panasonic is losing almost 3 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 3 percent and Canon is adding more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Resonac Holdings is tumbling more than 9 percent, while Furukawa Electric and Kokusai Electric are declining more than 3 percent each. Tokai Carbon, NGK, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Mitsui Kinzoku and Ibiden are losing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, SHIFT is soaring more than 9 percent, Trend Micro is jumping more than 7 percent, BayCurrent is surging more than 6 percent, Nomura Research Institute is advancing almost 5 percent and NEC is gaining more than 4 percent, while Fujitsu and Taiyo Yuden are adding almost 4 percent each. Recruit Holdings is up more than 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and South Korea are tumbling 2.4 percent each, while China is down 1.1 percent. New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.3 percent each. Malaysia and Indonesia are up 0.1 and 0.6 percent, respectively. On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after fluctuating early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.

The major averages saw some volatility late in the session but closed firmly in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 278.04 points or 1.1 percent to 26,702.86, the Dow climbed 360.21 points or 0.7 percent to 52,856.09 and the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points or 0.6 percent to 7,757.17.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest gain, inching up 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices edged lower Wednesday on reports of progress in Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down by $0.69 or 0.71 percent at $97.13 per barrel.