Asian stock markets are predominantly in decline on Thursday, reflecting the generally negative sentiment from Wall Street overnight. Investors are responding to the uptick in bond yields and speculating that the U.S. Federal Reserve might adopt a cautious approach towards future interest rate cuts. Additionally, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to impact market sentiment. On Wednesday, Asian markets exhibited mixed results.
Despite the Federal Reserve's anticipated interest rate cut of a quarter-point in the upcoming month, growing skepticism surrounds the likelihood of another cut in December. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the probability of rates remaining unchanged in December has increased to 30.2% from 13.9% a week ago.
Australia's market is experiencing modest gains on Thursday after an initial dip, building on slight progress from the previous session. This occurs despite the negative cues from the U.S., with the S&P/ASX 200 index maintaining its position above the 8,200 mark. Gains in the energy and technology sectors are counterbalancing losses in mining stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index has risen by 27.50 points, or 0.34%, to 8,243.50, having fluctuated between a low of 8,183.80 and a high of 8,244.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index has increased by 14.50 points, or 0.17%, to 8,490.80. On the previous day, Australian stocks closed slightly higher.
In the mining sector, Rio Tinto has decreased by 0.3%, Fortescue Metals by nearly 4%, and BHP Group by almost 1%, though Mineral Resources has gained over 1%.
Oil stocks are mixed, with Woodside Energy down 0.5%, and Origin Energy gaining close to 1%, while Beach Energy and Santos are unchanged.
In technology, Afterpay's owner Block has fallen over 1%, and WiseTech Global has decreased nearly 4%, whereas Xero and Zip are down nearly 1% each, and Appen has risen close to 1%.
The major banks show mixed results. Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking have each increased by 0.4%, while Westpac and National Australia Bank have decreased between 0.1% and 0.3%.
Gold miners such as Evolution Mining, Gold Road Resources, and Northern Star Resources are down nearly 2% each, and Resolute Mining has declined by 1.5%, with Newmont dropping over 8%.
Recent economic data indicate that Australia's manufacturing sector contracted further in October, as per a Judo Bank survey, with a PMI score of 46.6, slightly down from 46.7 in September, remaining below the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction. The services PMI increased slightly to 50.6 in October from 50.5 in September.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.664.
Meanwhile, Japan's market is showing a slight increase on Thursday, recovering some losses from the past three sessions despite Wall Street's negative influence. The Nikkei 225 Index is trending upwards but remains significantly below the 38,200 mark, with technology and exporter stocks leading the gains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index concluded the morning session at 38,154.25, up by 49.39 points or 0.13%, after hitting a low of 37,712.19 and a high of 38,320.39 earlier. Japanese markets sharply declined on Wednesday.
In individual stocks, SoftBank Group has dropped 1.5%, and Fast Retailing is slightly down by 0.1%. Toyota has decreased by 0.5%, while Honda remains stable.
In technology, Tokyo Electron has risen nearly 2%, Advantest by over 2%, and Screen Holdings by almost 1%.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial have risen between 0.2% and 0.4%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial has dipped by 0.1%.
Major exporters like Canon are up over 1%, Sony by 0.3%, and Mitsubishi Electric by nearly 1%, with Panasonic remaining stable.
Other notable gainers include Konica Minolta, up nearly 5%, IHI adding over 4%, and BANDAI NAMCO, Kanadevia, and Seven & I Holdings advancing by nearly 3% each. No major losses were reported.
In currency exchanges, the U.S. dollar trades in the lower 152-yen range on Thursday.
In other Asian markets, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia are down by 0.1% to 0.8% each, whereas New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan are up by 0.1% to 0.7% each. On Wall Street, stocks encountered early session pressure Wednesday, leading to continued declines throughout the day, extending the Dow and S&P 500's losing streaks to three consecutive sessions.The major indexes recovered some losses towards the end of the trading session, yet they stayed substantially in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 409.94 points, or 1.0%, to close at 42,514.95. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite went down by 296.47 points, or 1.6%, settling at 18,276.65. The S&P 500 also declined, losing 53.78 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 5,797.42.
Similarly, Europe's major stock markets concluded the day with downward momentum. Germany's DAX Index decreased by 0.2%, while the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both registered losses of 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices fell on Wednesday. This decline was attributed to data indicating a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude oil inventories the previous week, along with the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar. December futures for West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped by $0.97, or 1.35%, to settle at $70.77 per barrel.
