Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday amid lingering worries about the financial situation in Europe. Though some of the markets are trading higher on bargain hunting after recent losses, gains are not much pronounced with investors mostly treading cautiously at higher levels.
The Australian stock market is seeing a choppy ride amid somewhat lackluster trades. Swinging between gains and losses, the market recovered after a fall and is currently trading flat.
Consumer staples and information technology stocks are finding some support, while industrial stocks are trading weak. Mining, energy, financial and healthcare stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,113.8 after an initial upmove, is currently trading at 4,128.3, down slightly from the unchanged line. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 2.6 points at 4,156.6, off the day's low of 4,143.4.
Atlas Iron is trading lower by 4.4 percent. Arrium, Fortescue Metals, Campbell Brothers, Iluka Resources, David Jones, Downer EDI and Boart Longyear are down 2 to 3.5 percent.
Qantas Airways, Monadelphous Group, Bluescope Steel, Sydney Airport, Whitehaven Coal, Commonwealth Property Office Fund, Toll Holdings, Cochlear and JB Hi-Fi are also trading notably lower.
Meanwhile, Seven West Media, Woodside Petroleum and Sims Metal Management are trading in positive territory, gaining 1.7 to 2.3 percent.
Billabong has reportedly received a second takeover offer from U.S. private equity firm TPG. The company's stock is currently under a trading halt.
The Japanese stock market declined with investors pressing sales amid lingering worries about the financial situation in the eurozone.
After opening flat and drifting down by over 50 points subsequently, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 35.7 points of 0.4 percent at 8,472.6 when the morning session ended.
Electric power, railway, financial, steel and non-ferrous metals stocks opened higher on bargain hunting, but gave up most of their gains subsequently due to stiff resistance at higher levels. Shares from insurance, oil, mining and services sections were trading weak at break.
Shares of Sharp Corp. were down more than 3.5 percent on reports the company will likely report a wider than expected loss. According to reports the company is likely to report a net loss of about 100 billion yen for the three months ended June 30.
Oki Electric Industry Co. shares lost over 5 percent. IHI Corp declined nearly 5 percent and Mitsubishi Motors eased by about 4 percent.
Isuzu Motors, Taiyo Yuden, Toshiba Corp, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Mitsui Fudosan, Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp, Olympus Corp and Mitsubishi Electric Corp lost 2 to 3.5 percent.
Casio Computer, Mizuho Financial, Nippon Yusen KK, Softbank Corp, Toyota Motor and Furukawa Co were also trading sharply lower at the break.
Meanwhile, Mitsumi Electric, Keisei Electric Railway, Panasonic Corp, West Japan Railway, All Nippon Airways and Mitsubishi Paper Mills moved higher, gaining 1.5 to 3 percent.
Nippon Electric Glass, Toyo Seikan Kaisha, Mazda Motor, Suzuki Motor, Credit Saison, Fast Retailing, Trend Micro, Daikin Industries and Central Japan Railway also surged higher.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 78-yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 78.25 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan are trading weak, while Shanghai, Indonesia and Singapore are up with notable gains. Markets across the region posted notable losses on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended notably lower on Monday after plunging sharply early on in the session amid mounting concerns about the financial situation in Europe.
The major averages moved roughly sideways going into the close of trading, stuck firmly in negative territory. The Dow ended down 101.1 points or 0.8 percent at 12,721.5, the Nasdaq slid 35.1 points or 1.2 percent to 2,890.2 and the S&P 500 dropped 12.1 points or 0.9 percent to 1,350.5.
Major European markets also moved sharply lower on Monday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index tumbled by 2.1 percent, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index plunged by 2.9 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended sharply lower on Monday, mostly on demand concerns with the eurozone financial problems back in focus and a strong dollar. Crude for September, the new front-month contract, shed $3.69 or 4 percent to close at $88.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com