Asian Markets Trade Mostly With Sharp Losses

Asian stock markets are trading mostly with sharp losses on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, with Australia also joining Europe, the U.S. and U.K. with a first tranche of sanctions on Russia. Ukraine has declared a state of emergency and Moscow has begun evacuating its Kyiv embassy. Technology stocks are seeing a sell-off in particular. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said separatist leaders from two self-declared republics of eastern Ukraine have sought help to repel Ukrainian forces. U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced plans to allow the toughest sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to move forward.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready to look for “diplomatic solutions” amid tensions with the West over Ukraine, but the interests of Russia, the security of its citizens, are non-negotiable.

A Pentagon official told reporters 80 percent of Russian forces amassed on the Ukraine border are “ready to go” and said Putin has assembled enough military assets to “conduct a large-scale invasion.”

The Australian stock market is plummeting on Thursday, giving up all gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying a tad above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Australia also joined Europe, the U.S. and U.K. with a first tranche of sanctions on Russia. Technology stocks are seeing a sell-off in particular.

Though traders also remain concerned about the scale of new domestic coronavirus infections, it has somewhat eased off with some states have now moved to essentially no COVID related restrictions and no masks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is plunging 206.40 points or 2.86 percent to 6,999.30, after hitting a day’s low of 26,993.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 207.00 points or 2.77 percent to 7,266.90. Australian markets ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is plunging more than 6 percent. OZ Minerals and Mineral Resources are declining more than 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are losing almost 3 percent each.

Oil stocks are lower. Santos is losing more than 2 percent, Origin Energy is slipping almost 2 percent, Beach Energy is down almost 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is declining almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are down more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is losing almost 3 percent and National Australia Bank is declining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Appen is plummeting more than 24 percent, Block is plunging more than 10 percent, Zip is losing more than 8 percent, Xero is declining almost 5 percent and WiseTech Global is down more than 6 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Newcrest Mining, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is adding almost 3 percent. Resolute Mining is losing almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Qantas are losing almost 3 percent after posting a wider first-half underlying loss before tax for the first half, hard-hit by domestic and international border closures. However, the airline said the outlook was improving as restrictions eased.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.720 on Thursday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling below the 26,200 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Ukraine has declared a state of emergency and Moscow has begun evacuating its Kyiv embassy.

Traders continue to be concerned about the spike in domestic new coronavirus infections, though on a steady decline and off record highs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 26,161.46, down 288.15 points or 1.09 percent, after hitting a low of 26,122.83 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Wednesday prior to the holiday on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota and Honda are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is declining 3.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is flat and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.5 percent.

The major exporters are mixed. Sony and Canon are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 2 percent and Panasonic is declining more than 1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Keio, Odakyu Electric Railway and Fujikura is slipping almost 5 percent each, while Shimizu, Secom and Fanuc are losing more than 4 percent each. Yokohama Rubber, Astellas Pharma and Furukawa Electric are declining almost 4 percent each, while Bridgestone, Mitsubishi, Nippon Paper Industries, Toto and Dai Nippon Printing are sliding more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Bandai Namco Holdings is gaining almost 6 percent, while Nexon, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are adding more than 3 percent each. Recruit Holdings and Dowa Holdings are up almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 114 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore is plunging 2 percent, while New Zealand, South Korea and Hong Kong are slipping 1.7 percent each. Taiwan is losing 1 percent, while China and Malaysia are down 0.1 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.1 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, extending the sell-off seen over the three previous sessions. The major averages moved to the upside early in the session but showed a substantial downturn as the day progressed.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 464.85 points or 1.4 percent to 33,131.76, the Nasdaq dove 344.03 points or 2.6 percent to 13,037.49 and the S&P 500 plummeted 79.26 points or 1.8 percent to 4,225.50.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Wednesday, with investors weighing the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on oil supplies, the likelihood of Iranian crude to the market, and the latest data on U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.19 or about 0.2 percent at $92.10 a barrel.