Asian stock markets are mostly in negative territory on Thursday following the sell-off overnight on Wall Street and amid concerns about the political situation in Yemen after Saudi Arabia and its allies began airstrikes in that country. Crude oil prices rose by more than a dollar in early Asian trades.
The Australian market opened lower, with the weak cues overnight from Wall Street prompting investors to indulge in some selling.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 80.40 points or 1.35 percent to 5,892.90. The broader All Ordinaries Index is declining 76.30 points or 1.29 percent to 5,860.80.
Banking stocks are lower. ANZ Banking and Westpac (WBK) are down more than 1.5 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are declining more than 1 percent.
Bank of Queensland said the economic outlook was unclear for the short to medium term, after reporting a 14 percent increase in net profit for the half year. The company's shares are down more than 3 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton (BHP) is declining more than 1 percent, while Rio Tinto (RIO) is edging up 0.11 percent and Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 1 percent. BC Iron is down almost 3 percent.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it is investigating comments made by Fortescue Metals chairman Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, calling on Australia's biggest iron ore miners to cap production. The ACCC investigation is amid concerns about potential cartel behavior and price fixing.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Kingsgate Consolidated is down 0.7 percent, despite gold prices rising for a sixth straight session overnight.
In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum is down 0.3 percent, while Oil Search is adding more than 1 percent and Santos is advancing almost 2 percent on the back of higher crude oil prices.
Retailer Myer Holdings confirmed that it has one of its shareholders has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging loss over the company's surprise 23 percent decline in first-half profit. The company's shares are declining more than 1 percent.
Surfwear retailer Billabong International said it will fight a shareholder class action launched over a 2011 earnings downgrade that led to massive falls in the company's stock price. Shares of the company are down 0.8 percent.
Paperlinx has placed its shares in a trading halt, saying it is in talks with European financiers amid fears that it might have breached the terms of a loan.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday despite weak U.S. economic data overnight. In early trades, the local unit is trading at US$0.7839, down from Wednesday's close of US$0.7878.
The Japanese market opened lower, following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street and on the back of a stronger yen.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index is declining 266.95 points or 1.35 percent to 19,479.25, off a low of 19,397.01 in early trades.
Among tech stocks, Advantest is lower by 3.7 percent, Toshiba Corp. is down 0.4 percent, Fanuc is declining 1.8 percent and Hitachi is losing 1 percent. Meanwhile, Nintendo is declining 2.2 percent and Casio Computer is down 1.4 percent.
Among the other major exporters, Sony is down 2.8 percent, Panasonic is declining 1.5 percent, TDK Corp is lower by 3.5 percent and Nikon Corp is losing 1.3 percent.
According to a report in the Nikkei business daily, Sharp Corp. plans to cut management salaries by 5 percent and wages for other workers by 2 percent in fiscal 2015 as part of its efforts to lower costs. The company's shares are losing 2.8 percent.
Trading house Sumitomo Corp. said Wednesday that it expects to report a net loss of 85 billion yen for the year ending March 31. The company's shares are down 0.8 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are down by more than 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial (MFG) is losing 0.9 percent.
In the auto sector, Toyota (TM) is down 0.9 percent, Honda (HMC) is lower by 1.1 percent and Nissan is declining 2.4 percent. According to the Nikkei business daily, Toyota plans to roll out more hybrid vehicles in Japan and account for half of its domestic sales.
Among the oil stocks, JX Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent and Inpex is adding 0.3 percent.
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing is down 0.8 percent and mobile carrier Softbank Corp. is lower by 0.4 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Sapporo Holdings is up more than 1 percent. Meanwhile, Kawasaki Kishen Kaisha and Eisai Co. are down more than 3 percent each, while Sumitomo Dainippon is declining 2.8 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 119-yen range on Thursday, down slightly from the upper 119 yen-range at close on Wednesday.
Among the other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are in negative territory. Meanwhile, Shanghai and Singapore are higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, adding to the losses posted in the previous session. The sell-off was led by technology stocks, as negative sentiment was generated by analyst comments raising concerns about weak demand for desktop computer processors and currency headwinds.
The Dow tumbled 292.60 points or 1.6 percent to 17,718.54, the Nasdaq plunged 118.21 points or 2.4 percent to 4,876.52 and the S&P 500 slumped 30.45 points or 1.5 percent to 2,061.05.
The major European markets all moved to the downside on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended higher for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, despite the official weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles to have risen more than expected last week.
Crude Oil futures for May delivery, the most actively traded contract, jumped $1.70 or 3.6 percent to settle at $49.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
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