Asian Markets Trade Mixed

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Thursday, following broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as traders react to China’s Premier Li Qiang statement that the second largest economy will not resort to using big stimulus measures to boost the economy. Fading optimism about an early rate cut by the US Fed is also weighing on the markets after the recent batch of strong U.S. economic data. Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

The Australian market is notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.70 points or 0.46 percent to 7,359.40, after hitting a low of 7,322.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.50 points or 0.47 percent to 7,587.00. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent and Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Santos is declining almost 2 percent. Origin Energy is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are declining more than 1 percent each, while Appen is slipping almost 4 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging up 0.5 percent, while Gold Road Resources, Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Resolute Mining is flat.

In economic news, the Australian economy lost 65,100 jobs in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was way off from forecasts for an increase of 17,600 jobs following the addition of 61,500 jobs in November.

Specifically, full-time jobs were down 106,600 after gaining 57,000 in the previous month. The jobless rate managed to hold steady at 3.9 percent, while the participation rate fell to 66.8 percent from 67.2 percent a month earlier.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.655 on Thursday.

Recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Thursday after opening in the red, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 35,600 level, amid continued weakness in the yen and as some traders booked profits after the recent market rally.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 35,637.01, up 159.26 points or 0.45 percent, after touching a high of 35,728.09 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 3 percent and Honda is adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.5 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is edging up 0.1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 3 percent and Panasonic is advancing mroe than 1 percent, while Sony is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Mitsubishi Electric and Bridgestone are gaining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, NEXON is losing almost 4 percent, while Mercari, Resonac Holdings, Yamato Holdings and Shiseido are declining almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the value of core machine orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 4.9 percent on month in November, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday – coming in at 816.7 billion yen. That was well shy of expectations for a fall of 0.8 percent following the 0.7 percent increase in October.

On a yearly basis, orders dropped 5.0 percent – again missing forecasts for a gain of 0.2 percent after slipping 2.2 percent in the previous month. For the fourth quarter of 2023, core machine orders are expected to add 0.5 percent on quarter and fall 1.6 percent on year at 2,550.6 billion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 148 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. China is down 1.3 percent, while Malaysia and New Zealand are down 0.4 and 0.5 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks remained mostly lower throughout the trading day on Wednesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages added to the losses posted during Tuesday’s session, with the Dow falling to its lowest closing level in almost a month.

The major averages regained ground going into the close of trading but remained in negative territory. The Dow dipped 94.45 points or 0.3 percent to 37,266.67, the Nasdaq slid 88.73 points or 0.6 percent to 14,855.62 and the S&P 500 fell 26.77 points or 0.6 percent to 4,739.21.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slumped 1.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, although concerns about the outlook for oil demand and a firm dollar limited the uptick in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February rose $0.16 at $72.56 a barrel.

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