Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday amid increased risk aversion, following the meltdown in Chinese stocks and on uncertainty regarding the Greek debt crisis. The Chinese stock market has plummeted in recent weeks despite a series of market-stabilizing measures by authorities.
The Australian market is extending losses from the previous session, tracking the negative lead overnight from Wall Street and the continued fall in commodity prices. Investors also treaded cautiously ahead of the release of Australia's unemployment data for June.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is declining 74.00 points or 1.35 percent to 5,395.50, off a low of 5,383.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 73.40 points or 1.35 percent to 5,383.10.
Miners are weak after iron ore prices plunged overnight to a fresh six-year low. BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto are losing more than 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is lower by more than 3 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is losing 1 percent and Evolution Mining is down almost 3 percent despite an increase in gold prices overnight as the U.S. dollar softened.
In the oil sector, Oil Search is down almost 3 percent, Woodside Petroleum is losing almost 2 percent and Santos is declining 3 percent after crude oil prices declined overnight.
The big four banks are also weak. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac (WBK) are lower in a range of 1.6 percent to 2.2 percent. Macquarie Group is down more than 2 percent.
Qantas and American Airlines have received interim approval from the competition watchdog, ACCC, to introduce joint services between Australia and the U.S. However, shares of Qantas are declining more than 2 percent.
Shares of Caltex Australia are losing more than 2 percent despite the oil refiner and distributor reporting a 45 percent surge in first-half net profit.
On the economic front, Australia will release unemployment data for June, with analysts expecting the jobless rate to rise to 6.1 percent from 6.0 percent in May.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar bounced back from a six-year low against the U.S. dollar after the greenback fell amid the outage on the New York Stock Exchange. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7426, up from Wednesday's close of US$0.7384.
The Japanese market is down sharply amid increased risk aversion following the stock market turmoil in China, while a stronger yen weighed on exporters' stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 427.04 points or 2.16 percent to 19,310.60, off a three-month low of 19,115.20 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Sony Corp. (SNE) is losing 0.5 percent, Panasonic is down more than 1 percent, Sharp is lower by 2 percent and Toshiba is declining almost 5 percent.
Toshiba is considering selling part of its stake in U.S. nuclear power unit Westinghouse Electric and other assets following an accounting scandal requiring a massive markdown of past profits, the Nikkei business daily reported.
In the tech sector, Casio Computer is higher by 0.6 percent, while Kyocera is declining almost 2 percent and Fanuc is down almost 3 percent.
Among auto stocks, Toyota (TM) is declining more than 2 percent, Suzuki is losing more than 3 percent and Mazda is lower by almost 3 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is declining more than 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is down more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by almost 3 percent.
Among the other major decliners, GS Yuasa and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings are losing more than 5 percent each, while Kobe Steel is down more than 4 percent.
On the economic front, the Cabinet Office said that core machine orders in Japan advanced 0.6 percent on month in May, worth 907.6 billion yen. The headline figure easily beat forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 3.8 percent increase in April.
On a yearly basis, core machine orders added 19.3 percent - also topping expectations for a gain of 16.7 percent following the 3.0 percent increase in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan said that the M2 money stock in Japan advanced 3.8 percent on year in June, worth 908.7 trillion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 4.0 percent following the upwardly revised 4.1 percent gain in May.
The trade balance reflected a deficit of 47.3 billion yen - also beating forecasts for a shortfall of 283.8 billion yen following the 146.2 billion yen shortfall in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.5 percent on year in June, coming in at 487.773 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations, and down from the 2.6 percent increase in May.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 120 yen range on Thursday, down from Wednesday's close in the upper 121 yen-range in Tokyo.Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, ndonesia and Taiwan are down with modest losses. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is advancing almost 3 percent and Malaysia is edging up 0.02 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday as Chinese stocks extended their recent steep decline and as traders also kept an eye on the latest developments regarding the Greek debt crisis. Some additional negative sentiment was generated by news that the New York Stock Exchange temporarily suspended trading in all symbols.
The Dow tumbled 261.49 points or 1.5 percent to 17,515.42, the Nasdaq plunged 87.70 points or 1.8 percent to 4,909.76 and the S&P 500 plummeted 34.65 points or 1.7 percent to 2,046.69.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on Wednesday on renewed hopes for a Greek debt deal. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index climbed 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended lower for a fifth straight session Wednesday, on renewed fears of a supply glut after official data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have increased more than expected last week.
Crude oil futures for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.68 or 1.3 percent to settle at $51.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
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December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.