Despite positive cues from Wall Street, where stocks ended higher overnight, Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Thursday. Though most of the markets in the region opened on a buoyant note, some of them retreated soon with investors choosing to take some profits, cashing in on recent gains.
After edging higher in early trades, the Australian stock market is trading slightly weak, with investors taking some profits at some counters. Selling in resources stocks following a weak trend in commodities prices is also contributing to the market's decline from higher levels.
Consumer staples, property trusts and telecommunications stocks are trading firm. Healthcare stocks are trading weak, while energy and financial stocks are mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which advanced to 5,211.6 after opening marginally up, is currently trading at 5,187, down 4.7 points from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 9 points or 0.2 percent at 5,164.3, nearly 30 points off the day's high of 5,191.8.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank are up with modest gains and Commonwealth Bank of Australia is up nearly a percent, while Westpac (WBK) is in negative territory with a marginal loss. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are down 1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) are down 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Fortescue Metals is trading 3.2 percent down, while Newcrest Mining is down with a loss of 5.2 percent.
Seek Limited shares are up 6.8 percent. Whitehaven Coal is trading nearly 4 percent up and Caltex Australia is up with a gain of 3.7 percent. Flight Centre and Wesfarmers are up 3 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.
Perseus Mining is trading lower by over 8 percent. Sims Metal Management is down nearly 7 percent and UGL is down with a loss of 5 percent.
Regis Resources, Downer EDI, Arrium, Macquarie Group, Aurora Oil & Gas, Leighton Holdings, Atlas Iron, Panaust, WorleyParsons and CSL are down 2 to 5 percent.
In economic news, Australia's imports of goods rose a seasonally-adjusted A$118 million, or one percent to A$20.02 billion in April, according to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Capital goods imports surged 16 percent, while intermediate and other merchandise goods imports fell 4 percent. Imports of consumption goods were down by 6 percent in the month.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened slightly higher against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9899, up from Wednesday's close of US$0.9872.
The Japanese stock market opened higher and the Nikkei rose to 15,155, its highest level since late December 2007, as stocks moved up in early trades, buoyed by an encouraging GDP report and the overnight gains on Wall Street.
However, the market retreated swiftly, with a stronger yen prompting traders to indulge in profit taking across the board. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined sharply and was down 163.1 points or 1.1 percent at 14,933 when the morning session ended.
Kawasaki Kiesn Kaisha, Nippon Paper Industries, Konami Corp., Yokohama Rubber, Citizen Holdings, Takara Holdings and Obayashi Corp. were down 5 to 6 percent.
Yahoo Japan, Mitsubishi Motors, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Marui Group, Pioneer Corp. and NTT Data Corp. lost over 4 percent.
Furukawa, Mazda Motor, Nippon Sheet Glass, Resona Holdings, Mizuho Financial Group (MFJ), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU), Seven & I Holdings, Sony Corp. (SNE), Softbank Corp., Casio Computer and J Front Retailing also declined sharply and lost 2.5 to 4 percent.
Olympus Corp. shares are up over 13 percent on its better than expected earnings outlook. Dai-ichi Life Insurance gained more than 7 percent. Furukawa Electric, Tokyo Electric Power, KDDI Corp., Minebea Co., Oki Electric Industry and T&D Holdings were up 3 to 5 percent at the break.
TDK Corp, NSK Ltd., Nikon Corp., Sumitomo Chemical, Tokyu Land, Taiheiyo Cement and Mitsubishi Estate were among the other notable gainers.
On the economic front, Japan's gross domestic product was up 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said in Thursday's preliminary report. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent following the flat reading in the previous three months.
On a yearly basis, GDP jumped 3.5 percent - also topping expectations for a gain of 2.7 percent following the 0.2 percent increase in Q4.
Nominal GDP was up 0.4 percent on quarter, just shy of forecasts for 0.5 percent after dipping 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 102 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 102.14 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore are trading weak, while Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan are trading firm.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, even as traders digested a mixed batch of U.S. economic data. While a better than expected report on homebuilder confidence in the month of May aided sentiment to an extent, an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity and a drop in producer prices in April limited the market's upside.
The Dow rose 60.4 points or 0.4 percent to 15,275.7, the Nasdaq climbed 9 points or 0.3 percent to 3,471.6 and the S&P 500 advanced 8.4 points or 0.5 percent to 1,658.8.
Major European markets too ended higher on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index moved up 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil snapped a four-day string of losses to end higher on Wednesday, with the Energy Information Administration's weekly report showing a surprising decline in U.S. crude oil stockpile, even as gasoline inventories unexpectedly edged up last week.
Crude for June delivery ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $94.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after plunging to a low of $92.13 during the session.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.