Despite a positive lead from the U.S. and European markets, Asian stock markets are trading weak on Thursday with investors indulging in some profit taking after the previous session's gains. Some weak economic data from the region and a lack of positive triggers are also contributing to the slide.
In the Australian market, energy and mining stocks are mostly trading weak. Shares from consumer discretionary and utilities sections are also trading lower, while financial, industrial and healthcare stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which staged a modest recovery after a weak start, tumbled again due to lack of support at higher levels and is currently trading at 4,398.8, down 19.6 points or 0.4 percent from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 19 points or 0.4 percent at 4,421.4.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank (ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are up 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, while National Australia Bank and Westpac (WBK) are trading modestly lower.
Top miners BHP Billiton (BHP,BBL) and Rio Tinto (RIO,RIO.L) are trading lower by about 1 percent.
Echo Entertainment Group shares are down 4.4 percent. Atlas Iron, Aurora Oil & Gas, Iluka Resources, Graincorp, Oil Search, Paladin Energy, Origin Energy and Woodside Petroleum are down 2 to 4 percent. Beach Energy, Perseus Mining, ALS and Seek are also trading sharply lower.
Meanwhile, David Jones, Qantas Airways, Boart Longyear, Alumina (AWC), Arrium and Fairfax Media are trading in positive territory, gaining 1.5 to 3 percent.
Shares of Brickworks Limited are trading flat. The company reported a 70 percent fall in full year profit to A$43.3 million.
Washington Soul Pattinson, which owns 44.5 percent of Brickworks plus a major stake on coal miner New Hope, posted a 60 percent fall in full-year net profit to A$143 million. The stock is down more than a percent from its previous closing price.
The Japanese stock market declined, with investors pressing sales at several counters following a drop in Japanese exports for the third successive month. Some profit taking after Wednesday's strong gains, the sharp fall in oil prices and the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar too contributed to the weakness.
Shares from precision instruments, automobile, financial and insurance sections opened lower and were mostly down when the morning session ended. Retail, communications, marine transport and construction stocks exhibited a mixed trend.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which dropped to 9,165 in early trades, recovered to 9,210 subsequently. However, it faltered again due to lack of support and was down 64.4 points or 0.7 percent at 9,167.8 at the end of the morning session.
Tokyo Electron, JTEKT Corp., Advantest Corp. (ATE), Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, Pacific Metals and Casio Computer lost 3 to 4.3 percent.
Mazda Motor Corp., Sony Corp. (SNE), Fuji Electric, Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Yokogawa Electric, Japan Steel Works, Ebara Corp., Inpex Corp. and Sumco were all down more than 2 percent at the break.
Softbank Corp., Konica Minolta Holdings, Kansai Electric Power, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Canon Inc., Nippon Light Metals, Panasonic Corp. (PC) and Nisshin Steel also posted notably losses.
Among the gainers in the Nikkei index, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. moved up nearly 6 percent, Aozora Bank gained 4.2 percent, Sharp Corp. surged 2.5 percent and Obayashi Corp. shares advanced by 2.4 percent.
Japan Tobacco, Seven & I Holdings, Ricoh, Bank of Yokohama, Fast Retailing, Shinsei Bank and Sapporo Holdings also moved higher.
According to data released by the Ministry of Finance, Japan saw a merchandise trade deficit of 754.127 billion yen in August. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 829.3 billion yen following the downwardly revised deficit of 518.9 billion yen in July.
Exports were down 5.8 percent on year, beating forecasts for a contraction of 7.5 percent following the 8.1 percent decline in the previous month. Imports fell an annual 5.4 percent, topping expectations for a decline of 5.5 percent after rising 2.1 percent a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 78 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 78.35 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan are all trading notably lower. Singapore is down with modest losses, while New Zealand is bucking the trend and trading notably higher.
On Wall Street, stocks moved higher on Wednesday, although buying interest remained subdued due to lingering uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets.
The major averages gave back ground going into the close but managed to end the day posting slim gains. The Dow inched up 13.3 points or 0.1 percent to 13,578, the Nasdaq crept up 4.8 points or 0.2 percent to 3,182.6 and the S&P 500 edged up 1.7 points or 0.1 percent to 1,461.1.
Major European markets too ended higher on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 index climbed 0.5 percent, and the German DAX index advanced by 0.6 percent.
U.S. crude oil extended loses to settle at a six-month low on Wednesday, after a weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude stockpiles to have increased more than expected last week.
Crude for October delivery plunged $3.31 or 3.5 percent to close at $91.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.