Asian Shares Mostly Lower On Concerns Over US Economy

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday after another tumble on Wall Street overnight.

The yen recovered losses against the dollar and gold climbed toward $2,400 per ounce, while oil prices slipped after rising more than 2 percent in the overnight U.S. trading session on data showing a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally higher at 2,869.90 after a volatile session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also fluctuated before ending little changed at 16,891.83.

Japanese markets fell notably amid lingering concern over slowing U.S. growth and recent market volatility.

The Nikkei average fell 0.74 percent to 34,831.15 while the broader Topix index closed 1.11 percent lower at 2,461.70.

The U.S. dollar briefly fell to the mid-145 yen range after a summary of opinions at the Bank of Japan's July policy meeting showed some members see room for further rate hikes and policy normalization.

Seoul stocks ended lower due to nervousness over ongoing market volatility. The Kospi average dropped 0.45 percent to 2,556.73.

Kakao Corp shares edged up slightly as the prosecution indicted Kim Beom-su, the founder of the company, on charges of stock manipulation related to the tech giant's 2023 takeover of SM Entertainment.

Australian stocks fell slightly as iron ore prices dipped and the Reserve Bank of Australia warned it will not hesitate to raise interest rates again to combat inflation.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.23 percent to 7,682, snapping a two-day winning streak. The broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.34 percent lower at 7,886.50.

Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto both fell around 2 percent as iron ore prices dropped below $100 per metric ton in Singapore amid rumors of steel output restrictions in China.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index dropped 0.56 percent to 12,257.28.

U.S. stocks ended notably lower overnight, failing to hold early gains following a poorly received U.S. Treasury bond auction.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.8 percent and the Dow dropped 0.6 percent.