Asian markets are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday, with investors looking for fresh triggers. The overnight weak close on Wall Street with a slightly negative reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's later policy meeting is also contributing to some lackluster moves in most of the markets in the Asian region.
The Australian stock market is trading lower, dragged down by miners following iron ore prices dropping to five-year lows.
Besides miners, stocks from consumer staples, healthcare and energy sections are also weak. Financial and industrial stocks are flat, while property trusts stocks are edging higher.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 5,331.3 in early trades, is currently down 21.0 points or 0.4 percent at 5,347.8. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 20.5 points or 0.4 percent at 5,332.0, coming off an early low of 5,316.3.
In the banking space, ANZ Bank is moving up 1 percent and National Australia Bank is adding 0.5, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac (WBK) are flat. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is up marginally and Bank of Queensland is declining 0.6 percent.
Top miners BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) are down 1.9 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Fortescue Metals is lower by 2.3 percent and Newcrest Mining is down by about 2 percent.
In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum and Santos are down marginally. Origin Energy is declining 1 percent and Caltex Australia is flat, while Oil Search is moving up nearly 1 percent.
Sonic Healthcare is declining 5.4 percent after lowering its earnings forecast for the current financial year. Arrium is lower by about 5 percent.
Incitec Pivot is down over 3.5 percent. Primary Healthcare, Woolworths, Sims Metal Management, Fairfax Media, Alumina (AWC), Bluescope Steel, Orora, Navitas and Iluka Resources are down 2 to 3 percent.
Meanwhile, Mineral Reserouces, Monadelphous Group and Scentre Group are in positive territory, gaining 1.2 to 2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The local unit is currently trading at US$0.8610, down nearly 0.5 percent from Wednesday's close.
After opening on a bright note, the Japanese stock market pared its gains, weighed by a stronger yen on the back of an encouraging trade report. The Bank of Japan's announcement on Wednesday that it would keep its stimulus program unchanged lifted stocks in early trades.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 17,407.7, was up just 3.5 points at 17,292.3 when the morning session ended.
Toray Industries Inc. shares moved up 5.8 percent. Fujitsu, NGK Insulators, Tokai Carbon, NEC Corp., Casio Computer, Nippon Sheet Glass, Asahi Group Holdings and Mazda Motor gained 2.5 to l4 percent.
Nippon Suisan Kaisha, SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc., Pioneer Corp., Unitika, Kuraray Co., Mitsumi Electric, Honda Motor (HMC), NH Foods, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Furukawa, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings were up 1.5 to 2.5 percent at the break.
Mitsubishi Motors, Nippon Yusen KK, KDDI Corp., Canon Inc. (CAJ), MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Sumitomo Chemical, Yokohama Rubber and Toho Zinc also posted strong gains.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power, Tokio Marine Holdings, Credit Saison, Japan Steel Works, Sony Financial Holdings, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Mitsubishi Estate, Nitto Boseki, Nomura Holdings, Kansai Electric Power and Softbank Corp. lost 1.5 to 3 percent.
On the economic front, Japan had a merchandise trade deficit of 709.995 billion yen in October, data from the Ministry of Finance showed. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 1,027.0 billion yen following the revised 960.6 billion yen deficit in September.
Exports were up 9.6 percent on year - topping expectations for a gain of 4.5 percent and up from 6.9 percent in the previous month. Imports gained just 2.7 percent versus forecasts for 3.4 percent and down.
Meanwhile, Japan's manufacturing sector continued to expand in November, coming in with a score of 52.1, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed. That missed forecasts for a score of 52.7 and it was down from 52.4 in October, although it remained above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 118 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. dollar is currently trading at 118.16 yen, against Wednesday's close of 117.36.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea are notably lower, while Shanghai and Singapore are down marginally. Taiwan is up sharply, while New Zealand and Hong Kong are modestly higher.
On Wall Street, stocks ended weak on Wednesday, despite coming off the day's lows. Profit taking contributed to the early weakness. Traders reacted negatively to a report from the Commerce Department showing a drop in housing starts, although the report also showed a jump in building permits.
Traders also reacted negatively to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's October policy meeting that said the central bank was not worried about the sharp pullback in the market and signs of economic weakness worries.
The major averages all closed in negative territory, although the Dow edged down only 2.1 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,685.7. The Nasdaq slid 26.7 points or 0.6 percent to 4,675.7 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.1 points or 0.2 percent to 2,048.7.
Major European markets ended mixed on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index crept up by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended lower on Wednesday, after the official weekly crude inventory data from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles to have risen more than expected last week.
Nonetheless, oil prices trended higher during the day amid speculation the OPEC may agree to a cut in crude production at its meeting next week in an effort to contain the price slide.
Crude futures for January delivery ended down $0.14 or 0.2 percent at $74.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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