Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday as investors digested the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent meeting and the overnight plunge in crude oil prices.
The Federal Reserve plans to reduce its bloated balance sheet, but failed to provide a specific timeline to begin the process, the minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee showed.
The Australian market is declining, extending losses from the previous session.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 18.10 points or 0.31 percent to 5,745.20, off a low of 5,744.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is losing 18.00 points or 0.31 percent to 5,783.00.
Among oil stocks, Santos is declining more than 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is down 1 percent and Oil Search is lower by almost 1 percent after crude oil prices fell overnight.
The big four banks are also weak. Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are down in a range of 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent.
The major miners are mostly lower. Fortescue Metals is edging down less than 0.1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing 0.3 percent, while BHP Billiton is adding 0.5 percent.
Bucking the trend, gold miners are higher. Newcrest Mining is advancing almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is rising 2 percent.
CIMIC Group said has sold its 23.6 percent stake in Macmahon Holdings after its failed hostile takeover bid for the mining services group. The construction giant's shares are declining more than 1 percent.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$2.471 billion in May. That exceeded forecasts for a surplus of A$1.10 billion following the downwardly revised A$90 million surplus in April.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against a steady U.S. dollar amid a slump in the price of oil. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7600, down from US$0.7626 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market also slipped, with a stronger yen weighing on exporters' shares. Investors are also digesting minutes of the latest U.S. Federal Reservemeeting.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 77.96 points or 0.39 percent to 20,003.67, off a low of 19,985.48 earlier.
The major exporters are weak on a stronger yen. Toshiba is declining more than 2 percent, Canon is lower by 0.6 percent, Panasonic is down 0.5 percent and Sony is losing 0.3 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is lower by 0.2 percent and Honda is losing more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by more than 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is losing almost 1 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is lower by more than 2 percent after crude oil prices fell more than 4 percent overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Nikon Corp. is rising almost 5 percent, Kajima Corp. is higher by more than 3 percent and Aeon Co. is gaining almost 3 percent.
On the flip side, FamilyMart UNY Holdings and JXTG Holdings are losing almost 3 percent each, while Okuma Corp. is down more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 113 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also lower. New Zealand and Indonesia are modestly higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as many traders remained away from their desks after the markets were closed for the fourth of July holiday the previous day. The Federal Reserve plans to reduce its bloated balance sheet, but failed to provide a specific timeline to begin the process, the minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee showed.
While the Dow edged down 1.10 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,478.17, the Nasdaq climbed 40.80 points or 0.7 percent to 6,150.86 and the S&P 500 rose 3.53 points or 0.2 percent to 2,432.54.
The major European markets saw modest strength on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index all inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil futures tumbled Wednesday, snapping an eight-day winning streak amid signs that OPEC's supply quota plan may be falling apart. Crude oil for August plunged $1.94 or 4.1 percent to settle at $45.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest daily loss in a month.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.