Tracking cues from Wall Street, where stocks drifted lower overnight following a decline in durables goods orders and the Federal Reserve's none too encouraging remarks about the U.S. economy, Asian markets are mostly trading in negative territory on Thursday. The mood is quite cautious in most of the markets in the region and corporate results and earnings guidance are dictating the trend at present.
Financial, energy and consumer discretionary stocks are among the notable losers in the Australian market. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,503.6 earlier in the day, is currently trading at 4,515, down 14.9 points or 0.3% from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 15.1 points or 0.3% at 4,527.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac are down 0.6%-1%. Bank of Queensland is down with a loss of 1% and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is trading modestly higher.
Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are trading modestly higher, while Newcrest Mining is in negative territory.
In the energy space, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search are down 0.7%-1.3%, while Origin Energy is down with a marginal loss.
Leighton Holdings Ltd has won a five-year contract to provide construction and maintenance services to Queensland's electricity provider, Ergon Energy. Under the agreement, valued at A$100 million, Leighton subsidiary Thiess will provide network construction and maintenance services to Queensland's growing central and northern regions. The Leighton Holdings stock is trading 1.2% up.
Media stock Austar is down by over 2% on weak results. The company said its first-half profit dropped 42% to A$20.69 million from A$35.5 million in the corresponding period last year.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower as concerns about the recovery in the U.S. economy weighed on financial markets. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.8928-US$0.8935, down 0.2% from Wednesday's close of US$0.8947-US$0.8951. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.8950 to the U.S. dollar.
The Japanese stock market is trading weak with the overnight negative close on Wall Street and a stronger yen hurting sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which hit a two-week closing high on Wednesday, is currently down 52.8 points or 0.5% at 9,700.4.
Steel, non-ferrous metals, banking, automobile, glass & ceramics and oil stocks are mostly down in negative territory.
Panasonic Corp. and Hino Motors are down by over 5%. NTT Data, All Nippon Airways, Daikin Industries, Inpex Corp., JFE Holdings, Seven & I Holdings, Fast Retailing, Japan Tobacco, CSK Holdings Corp., Mazda Motor, Nippon Soda, Sumitomo Corp., Mitsui & Co., Mitsui Minerals and Nippon Steel are trading notably lower.
Automobile stocks Isuzu Motors and Toyota Motor, and banking stocks Mizuho Trust & Banking, Bank of Yokohama, Mizuho Financial, Shizuoka Bank, Mizuho Securities and Sumitomo Trust & Banking are trading weak.
Advantest Corp. shares are trading lower by about 3.5% following a worse-than-expected drop in the company's earnings in the April-June quarter.
NEC Corp. is down 3.6% after five successive days of gains. The stock is down following the company booking a net loss of 43.1 billion yen in the quarter through June.
Nomura Research Institute Limited shares are also down on weak earnings. The company reported a sharp 33% drop in earnings to 4 billion yen for the April-June quarter.
Clarion, Bridgestone Corp., GS Yuasa, Toho Zinc, Nissan Motor, Shinsei Bank, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Yokohama Rubber, West Japan Railways and Mitsubishi Motor are trading notably higher.
On the economic front, retail sales in Japan were up 3.2% on year in June at 11.004 trillion yen, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Thursday. That was in line with analyst expectations following the 2.8% increase in May.
The sales from large retailers were down 2.4% on year after shedding 3.2% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail sales were down a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, again matching expectations following the 2% contraction in May. Large retailer sales fell 3% on month following the revised 3.9% fall a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at the lower 87 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 87.28 to the U.S. dollar.
The South Korean stock market too is trading lower with investors pressing sales in some key stocks from the technology, banking and automobile sectors.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which edged up to around 1,777 in early trades, is currently down 3.9 points or 0.22% at 1,769.5.
Among technology stocks, Hynix Semiconductor and LG Display LCD are trading lower by 2.3% and 3.5% respectively. Samsung Electronics is down with a loss of about 1% and LG Electronics is trading lower by 0.5%.
Bank stocks Korea Exchange Bank, Woori Finance, KB Financial and Shinhan Financial are down with modest losses.
Automobile stocks Kia Motor, Ssangyong Motor and Hyundai Motor are trading lower by 0.3%-0.7%. Among shipping stocks, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries are down 1.8% and 0.4% respectively. STX Pan Ocean is up 0.5%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is trading flat.
Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are down 1.3% and 1% respectively. Oil, telecommunications and airlines stocks are trading mixed.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Taiwan are trading weak, while Shanghai, Malaysia and New Zealand are up with modest gains. The Indonesian market is trading flat. Markets across the region ended mostly higher on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks posted notable losses on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve's Beige Book showed some signs of a stalling economic recovery and the Commerce Department reported an unexpected drop in durable goods orders.
The major averages moved well off their worst levels of the day going into the close but remained stuck in the red. The Dow ended lower by 39.8 points or 0.4% at 10,497.9, the Nasdaq declined by 23.7 points or 1% to 2,264.6 and the S&P 500 slid by 7.7 points or 0.7% to 1,106.1.
Major European markets ended largely on the downside on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the German DAX index lost 0.9% and 0.5% respectively, while the French CAC 40 index edged up by 0.1%.
Crude oil prices declined for a second day, weighed down by an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories and a drop in orders for durable goods. Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled lower by US$0.51 at US$76.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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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.