Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, as technology stocks tumbled following a sell-off in U.S. semiconductor stocks amid prospects of tighter trade curbs on Chinese companies by the US administration. There are also concerns that another Trump presidency could disrupt global trade. Asian Markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

The Biden administration is considering expanding trade restrictions and imposing tougher sanctions on firms exporting critical chipmaking equipment to China.

Former President Donald Trump, who is currently the favorite to win November's election, also suggested Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense, claiming the country took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

The Australian market is modestly lower on Thursday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 8,000 mark, retreating slightly from all-time highs, with weakness in technology stocks which mirrored their peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq. This was partially offset by gains in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.10 points or 0.35 percent to 8,029.80, after touching a high of 8,070.40 and a low of 8,029.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.20 points or 0.42 percent to 8,268.30. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are flat, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

In the tech space, Xero is losing more than 2 percent, Appen is declining more than 4 percent and WiseTech Global is slipping almost 4 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent and Zip is surging more than 8 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 4 percent, Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent and Newmont is up almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.2 percent.

In other news, shares in Accent Group are soaring more than 9 percent after a profit update and its decision to close 18 Glue stores due to weak performance from the youth fashion brand.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.673 on Thursday.

Extending the losses in the previous session, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is plunging 800 points to below the 40,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks, which mirrored their peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq. Financial stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,277.86, down 819.83 points or 1.99 percent, after hitting a low of 40,112.56 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 3 percent and Honda is declining more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 4 percent, Tokyo Electron is plummeting almost 10 percent and Screen Holdings is plunging more than 8 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are declining more than 2 percent each, while Canon is edging down 0.5 percent and Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Disco is plummeting more than 8 percent and Socionext is plunging more than 6 percent, while Renesas Electronics and Lasertec are losing almost 6 percent each. Mazda Motor, Fujikura, Resonac Holdings and Sumco are declining almost 5 percent each, while Ebara and Hoya are slipping more than 4 percent each, while SMC is down almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Nichirei is gaining more than 5 percent, while Nitori Holdings and Kansai Electric Power are adding more than 3 percent each. Asahi Group is up almost 3 percent.

In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 224.038 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. That exceeded expectations for a deficit of 240.0 billion yen following the 1,220.1 billion yen shortfall in May.

Exports were up 5.4 percent on year at 9.208 trillion yen, shy of forecasts for an increase of 6.4 percent and down from 13.5 percent in the previous month. Imports rose an annual 3.2 percent to 8.984 trillion yen versus expectation for a gain of 9.3 percent and down from 9.5 percent a month earlier.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 156 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and South Korea are down 1.9 and 1.3 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. New Zealand is relatively flat. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.6 percent. On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday with geopolitical concerns and profit warning from Dutch semiconductor firm ASML rendering the mood cautious. Among the major averages, the Dow moved on to a new high, while the tech-laden Nasdaq ended sharply lower.

The Dow ended with a gain of 243.60 points or 0.59 percent at 41,198.08. The S&P 500 settled with a loss of 78.93 points or 1.39 percent at 5,588.27, while the Nasdaq dropped 512.42 points or 2.77% to 17,996.92.

The major European markets also closed mixed on the day. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.44 percent and 0.12 percent, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.28 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.