Asian stock markets are trading lower on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, as investors refrained from buying risky assets amid lingering concerns that global central banks will soon taper off their economic stimulus plans.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 5 percent, while the Australian market fell to a fresh five-month low despite data showing an unexpected improvement in employment in May.
The Australian market continued to trade weak on Thursday, tracking cues from overseas markets amid worries about stimulus plans by global central banks.
In early-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 30.20 points or 0.64 percent to 4,694.30 and the broader All Ordinaries Index is down 31.00 points or 0.66 percent to 4,685.10. The S&P/ASX 200 Index has tumbled 10 percent from its five-year peak of 5,249 points on May 15, sending the index into a technical correction.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) is trading lower by 1.61 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO) is down 1.19 percent. Rio Tinto said it has agreed to sell its Eagle nickel and copper project in the U.S. to Canada-based Lundin Mining Corp. for about US$325 million in cash.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is trading lower by almost 2 percent, extending losses for a seventh straight session.
In the banking sector, National Australia Bank is advancing more than 1 percent, ANZ is adding almost 1 percent and Westpac (WBK) is up 0.84 percent. But Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.02 percent.
Among energy stocks, Oil Search is losing more than 2 percent and Origin Energy is down 1.81 percent.
Suncorp Group said it has sold A$1.6 billion in non-performing property and corporate loans to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS). The company will incur an after-tax loss in a range of A$470 million to A$490 million in the portfolio in the second half of the year. The company's stock is down 1.4 percent.
On the economic front, total employment in Australia increased unexpectedly in May, the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The number of employed persons rose 1,100 from a month earlier to 11.66 million in May. Economists expected a decline of 10,000. Full-time employment, however, decreased by 5,300.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in May from 5.6 percent in April. Unemployment decreased by 3,600 or 0.5 percent month-on-month to 682,900.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was trading higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. In early-morning trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.9485, up from Wednesday's close of US$0.9463. In overnight trade, the currency peaked atUS$0.9565, its highest level since Friday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower, tracking the weak cues from Wall Street and a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell below the psychologically important 13,000 mark.
The Nikkei Index is currently down 683.57 points or 5.14 percent to 12,605.75, after opening lower by 1.89 percent at 13038.02.
Exporters are trading lower on the back of a stronger yen. Sony Corp. (SNE) is down more than 2 percent and Sharp Corp. is declining more than 7 percent. Advantest is also down more than 7 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota Motor (TM) is losing more than 4 percent, Honda Motor (HMC) is declining 3.5 percent and Nissan Motor is trading lower by 4.1 percent. Electrical equipment maker Taiyo Yuden is down 7.8 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU) is losing more than 4 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) is declining 3.6 percent.
Marubeni Corp. is trading lower by 2.4 percent amid reports that the company is bidding for a 29 percent stake in Rio Tinto's Coal & Allied unit.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 95-yen range on Thursday amid uncertainty over a possible tapering of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program. In early-morning trades, the dollar was quoted in a range of 95.20-95.24 yen, down from Wednesday's close of 96.80-96.82 yen in Tokyo.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai is down more than 3 percent and Hong Kong is trading lower by almost 3 percent. New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also trading in negative territory.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a notable downturn over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after failing to sustain an initial upward move. With the pullback on the day, the Dow dipped back below the psychologically-important 15,000 level.
The Dow dropped 126.79 points or 0.8 percent to 14,995.23, the Nasdaq tumbled 36.52 points or 1.1 percent to 3,400.43 and the S&P 500 fell 13.61 points or 0.8 percent to 1,612.52.
The major European markets also ended the day lower. While the German DAX Index slid by 1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil snapped a two-day loss to end higher on Wednesday, with the dollar continuing to weaken against a basket of major currencies and notwithstanding an official Energy Information Administration weekly oil report that showed a sharp, more than expected jump in U.S. crude oil stockpiles last week.
Light sweet crude oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.50 or 0.5 percent to close at $95.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com