Asian stock markets are trading weak on Wednesday, tracking the negative cues overnight from Wall Street and on concerns about the outlook for the global economy. Investor sentiment has been dampened after the Bank of Japan's decision not to take action to curb market volatility fuelled concerns over the limits of policy action by central banks.
The Australian stock market is trading lower, tracking the negative cues overnight from Wall Street. Lower commodity prices weighed on mining stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is down 40.60 points or 0.85 percent to 4,716.50 and the broader All Ordinaries index is declining 37.70 points or 0.79 percent to 4,711.20. The S&P/ASX 200 Index has tumbled 10 percent from its five-year peak of 5,249 points on May 15, sending the index into a technical correction.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) is trading lower by 0.69 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO) is down 0.47 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is trading lower by 1 percent. The company announced a major restructuring last week that involves job cuts and reduced expenditure in response to a fall in gold prices.
In the banking space, National Australia Bank is declining 1.58 percent, ANZ is down 1.62 percent, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost a percent and Westpac (WBK) is trading lower by more than 2 percent.
Among energy stocks, Oil Search is losing 1.08 percent and Origin Energy is adding 0.64 percent.
Private hospital operator Ramsay Healthcare Ltd. has taken a 90 per cent stake in a private hospital in the French city of Toulouse. The company's shares are adding 0.34 percent.
On the economic front, Australia will see June results for the consumer confidence survey from Westpac as well as April numbers for credit card balances. In May, the Westpac index plummeted 7.0 percent to a score of 97.6. Credit card purchases in March were at A$49.7 billion.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar rebounded from heavy losses that saw it touch an almost three-year low overnight. In early trades on Wednesday, the local unit was quoted at US$0.9425, up from US$0.9402 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower in response to overnight losses on Wall Street and a weaker U.S. dollar. Investor sentiment was also dampened by the Bank of Japan's decision not to take action to calm volatility in the bond market.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 252.14 points or 1.89 percent to 13,065.48, after opening lower by 1.73 percent at 13087.66 and briefly falling below the key 13,000 mark.
Exporters are trading lower on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar. Sony Corp. (SNE) is down almost 3 percent and Sharp Corp. is declining more than 1 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota Motor (TM) is losing more than 3 percent, Honda Motor (HMC) is declining 2.6 percent and Nissan Motor is trading lower by 3.1 percent. Electrical equipment maker Taiyo Yuden is down 4.4 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU) is losing 3.2 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) is declining 2.5 percent.
On the economic front, core machine orders in Japan plunged a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent on month in April to 723.3 billion yen, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday - falling for just the second time in seven months.
The headline figure missed forecasts for a contraction of 8.1 percent following the 14.2 percent surge in March. On a yearly basis, core machine orders dipped 1.1 percent - beating expectations for a fall of 4.3 percent following the 2.4 percent increase in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan noted that an index measuring prices for domestic corporate goods in Japan was up 0.1 percent in May compared to the previous month, standing at 101.6. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised 0.4 percent gain in April, originally 0.3 percent.
On a yearly basis, prices were up 0.6 percent - matching forecasts following the upwardly revised 0.1 percent increase in the previous month.
Later in the day, Japan will also see April numbers for loans and discounts.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 96 yen- range on Wednesday as traders were disappointed by the Bank of Japan's decision not to take action to calm the volatile bond market. In late-morning trades, the dollar was quoted in a range of 96.27-96.30 yen, down from Tuesday's close of 98.17-98.18 yen in Tokyo.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia are trading lower. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong are closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
On Wall Street, stocks saw some volatility over the course of the session but maintained a negative bias throughout the day. The weakness visible on Wall Street was partly due to a negative reaction to the Bank of Japan's latest monetary policy decision. The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory although off their lows for the session.
The Dow fell 116.57 points or 0.8 percent to 15,122.02, the Nasdaq slid 36.82 points or 1.1 percent to 3,436.95 and the S&P 500 dropped 16.68 points or 1 percent to 1,626.13.
The major European markets also came under significant selling pressure on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil pared losses but still ended lower for a second straight day on Tuesday. Light Sweet crude oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $0.39 or 0.4 percent to close at $95.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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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.