Asian stock markets are trading weak on Wednesday with the overnight negative close on Wall Street amid renewed concerns about the financial health of European banks, hurting sentiment to a notable extent. Economic reports from the Asian region too are not any significantly encouraging.
Financial, mining and consumer discretionary stocks are among the most prominent losers in the Australian market. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is down 28.2 points or 0.6% at 4,545. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,585, down 28 points or 0.6% from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 2.3 points or 0.01% at 4,573.2, while the All Ordinaries index closed lower by 2.7 points or 0.1% at 4,613.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are down 0.9%-1%, while Westpac is down 1.4% from its previous closing price. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is down 1.2% and Bank of Queensland is trading marginally down, while Macquarie Group is trading lower by about 1%.
Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton is down 1.2%, Rio Tinto is down with a loss of 1.4% and Fortescue Metals is trading 1% down, while Newcrest Mining is bucking the trend and trading higher by over 2%. Bluescope Steel, Incitec Pivot and Orica are trading weak.
In the energy space, Oil Search is up 0.3% and Origin Energy is losing about 0.3%, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum are trading flat.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.5%, in line with expectations. The central bank broadly retained its economic assessment, saying the Australian economy had been growing at around trend pace, boosted by commodity exports and strong investment. With regards to inflation, the bank said the headline CPI will likely remain just above the 3% target ceiling through mid-2011 due to the impact of tobacco tax changes.
According to the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the value of home loan commitments in Australia increased 0.7% in July from June. The Bureau said the number of loan commitments for new, owner-occupied dwellings increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7%. Commitments for purchases of new dwellings increased in number by 1.5%, while the value of commitments for investment housing declined 2.3%.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower with traders moving away from risk assets. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9107-US$0.9111, notably down from Tuesday's close of US$0.9142-US$0.9145. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9123 to the U.S. dollar.
The Japanese stock market is down sharply with investors indulging in some heavy selling across the board amid renewed concerns about the global economy. The overnight negative close on Wall Street and the yen's strength against the U.S. dollar are also weighing on investor sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index has declined sharply and looks set to hit a new 16-month low. The index, which plunged to 9,016.5, was down 181.61 points or 1.97% at 9,044.39 at the end of the morning session.
Out of the 225-stock strong Nikkei index, only ten stocks are in positive territory at present. Among them, All Nippon Airways and Nippon Light Metals are up with modest gains, while the other stocks are up just marginally.
Credit Saison, Citizen Holdings, Advantest, J Front Retailing, Sumitomo Osaka, Trend Micro, Denso, Mitsui Chemicals, Seven & I Holdings, Nomura Holdings and Pacific Metals are down with sharp losses.
Automobile, banking, machinery and chemicals stocks are mostly in negative territory with notable losses. Real estate, foods, retail and non-ferrous metals stocks are also trading weak.
On the economic front, core machinery orders in Japan surged a seasonally adjusted 8.8% in July compared to the previous month, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for a 2% monthly increase following the 1.6% gain in June. On an annual basis, core machinery orders surged 15.9%, again topping forecasts for an 8.1% gain, after shedding 2.2% in the previous month.
Government orders eased 1.3% on month, while overseas orders added 2.6% and agency orders fell 1.8%. Private sector orders collected 6.4% on month. Overall machinery orders, which include the volatile ones for ships and from power companies, were up 5.7% on month.
According to a report from the Ministry of Finance, Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.6759 trillion yen in July, up 26.1% on year. That beat expectations for a surplus of 1.534 trillion yen after showing a surplus of 1.0471 trillion yen in June.
Imports rose 15.7% on year to 4.747 trillion yen, while exports added an annual 24.7% to 5.663 trillion yen. The trade surplus was 916.1 billion yen, up 110% on year. The adjusted current account surplus came in at 1.4636 trillion yen, again beating expectations for a surplus of 1.3629 trillion yen after posting a surplus of 1.3621 trillion yen in June.
Meanwhile, bank lending in Japan declined 2% on year in August, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday, coming in at 394.2 trillion yen. That follows a 1.9% annual contraction in July. Including trusts, bank lending was down 1.9% on year to 456.7 trillion yen. That followed a 1.8% decline on year in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 83 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 83.55 to the U.S. dollar.
Tracking global cues, the South Korean stock market is trading weak with stocks from technology and banking sectors leading the fall. The benchmark KOSPI index is down 14.7 points or 0.8% at 1,773.
Among bank stocks, Korea Exchange Bank is down 2.3%, Shinhan Financial is trading lower by 2%, KB Financial is down with a loss of 1.5% and Woori Finance is down 1.3% from its previous closing price.
In the technology space, Hynix Semiconductor is down nearly 4% and LG Electronics is losing about 3%, while Samsung Electronics and LG Display LCD are trading lower by 1.5% and 0.8% respectively.
Among shipping stocks, Hyundai Heavy Industries and STX Pan Ocean are down with modest losses, while Daewoo Shipbuilding and Samsung Heavy Industries are up marginally.
Automobile stocks Kia Motor and Hyundai Motor are up 2.3% and 2% respectively. Ssangyong Motor is down with a loss of 1.2%.
Among oil stocks, SK Holdings is down 1% and S-Oil is trading modestly higher. KEPCO is up 1.3%. Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are down 0.8% and 1.2% respectively. Airlines stocks are trading weak, while telecommunications stocks are exhibiting a mixed trend.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore are down with notable losses. Malaysia, New Zealand and Taiwan are also trading weak. Markets across the region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks fell by sharp margins to open the Labor Day-shortened week on Tuesday, as profit taking following last week's gains drove the major averages down off of their best closing levels in three weeks.
The major averages saw some late-day volatility, ending near their session lows. The Dow ended down 107.2 points or 1% at 10,340.7, the Nasdaq declined by 24.9 points or 1.1% to 2,208.9 and the S&P 500 drifted down by 12.7 points or 1.1% to 1,091.8.
Major European markets ended lower on Tuesday. The French CAC 40 index slid by 1.1%, while the German DAX index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index both lost 0.6%.
Crude oil prices declined on Tuesday amid a recovery in the dollar, but trimmed losses after reports of an explosion at a major refinery operated by Mexican oil giant Pemex sparked expectations of improved import demand for oil products from the nation.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled down US$0.51 at US$74.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as low as US$72.63.
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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.