Asian stock markets are mostly trading sharply lower on Thursday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks tumbled overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at winding up its stimulus program by mid-2014.
The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower with investors pressing heavy sales almost across the board.
Financial, mining, energy, industrial, consumer discretionary and property trusts stocks are mostly trading notably lower, while shares from the information technology and healthcare sectors are trading firm.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which plunged to 4,755.6, is currently trading at 4,768.3, down 93.1 points or 1.9 percent from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 89 points or 1.8 percent at 4,752.8.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia are down 2.2 to 2.6 percent, and Westpac (WBK) is down with a loss of 3.6 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are down 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton (BHP) is down 2.8 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO) is trading lower by 3.4 percent, Newcrest Mining is down with a loss of 3. 6 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing more than 6 percent.
Energy stocks Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Caltex Australia are trading lower by 2 to 3 percent. Oil Search, faring relatively better, is down with a loss of 0.8 percent.
Perseus Mining is trading nearly 12 percent down and PanAust is down by over 8 percent. Iluka Resources, Regis Resources, Leighton Holdings, Arrium, Goodman Group, Mineral Resources and Investa Office Fund are down 4.5 to 6.5 percent.
Sims Metal Management, ALS, Mirvac Group, Boral, Qantas Airways, CFS Retail Property Trust and Atlas Iron are also down with sharp losses.
New Newscorp Inc., which made a weak debut on Wednesday, is trading nearly 20 percent up. QBE Insurance Group, the other prominent gainer, is up 4.8 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar plunged sharply against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the local unit was quoting at US$0.9294, down 2 percent from Wednesday's close of US$0.9491.
Stocks tumbled in early trades in the Japanese market, with investors indulging in some heavy selling following Wall Street's weak close overnight on the back of a negative reaction to the Fed's statement about an end to its asset purchase program by mid-2014.
However, with some front line stocks bouncing back on strong support at lower levels, the market regained some lost ground subsequently.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which plunged to 12,966 after opening around 13,102, is currently trading at 13,110, down 135.2 points or slightly more than 1 percent from its previous close.
Tokyo Tatemono, TDK Corp., Nikon Corp., Sumitomo Metal Mining, Isuzu Motors and Takashimaya are down 3 to 5 percent.
Heiwa Real Estate, Seven & I Holdings, Komatsu, Fujitsu, Inpex Corp., Trend Micro and Nippon Electric Glass are trading lower by over 2 percent. Pacific Metals, Suzuki Motor, Bank of Yokohama, J Front Retailing, Asahi Glass, Yahoo Japan and Japan Steel Works are also trading sharply lower.
Among the gainers, GS Yuasa is up more than 8 percent on reports the company will tie up with Bosch for auto battery business. Furukawa Co. is trading higher by nearly 5 percent. JFE Holdings, Oki Electric Industry, Nippon Paper Industries, Mazda Motor, Mitsui OSK Lines, Ricoh, Yokohama Rubber and Mitsubishi Paper Mills are up 2 to 4 percent.
Hino Motors, Taiheiyo Cement, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group (MFJ), Fuji Heavy Industries, Fujifilm Holdings, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Toshiba Corp. and Advantest Corp. (ATE) are also trading notably higher.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 96 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 96.48 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are down sharply. Shanghai, Malaysia and New Zealand are also trading notably lower.
On Wall Street, stocks declined sharply on Wednesday as a negative reaction to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement weighed on the markets. The relatively upbeat comments regarding the economic outlook added to recent concerns about the Fed tapering its asset purchase program in the near future.
The major averages saw some volatility following the announcement from the Fed, closing firmly in the red. The Dow plunged 206 points or 1.4 percent to 15,112.2, the Nasdaq tumbled 39 points or 1.1 percent to 3,443.2 and the S&P 500 plummeted 22.9 points or 1.4 percent to 1,628.9.
Major European markets too ended weak on Wednesday. While the French CAC 40 index declined by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the German DAX index both ended the day down by 0.4 percent.
U.S. crude oil settled lower on Wednesday, after the Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report showed a better-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Crude for July delivery ended down $0.20 or 0.2 percent at $98.24 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.