Asian Markets Mostly Lower On Tariff Worries

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious ahead of the deadline of July 9 set by the US President Donald Trump for reaching trade deals with its partner countries. Trump hinted at higher tariffs on certain countries after the deadline. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

Trump announced that he has reached a trade deal with Vietnam that calls for Vietnam to pay a 20 percent tariff on goods sent to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on any transshipping. Meanwhile, the U.S. will sell its products into Vietnam at ZERO tariff.

The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday after opening in the green, reversing some of the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 8,600 level, with weakness in financial and energy stocks partially offset by gains in mining and technology stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 44.30 points or 0.52 percent to 8,553.40, after touching a high of 8,623.60 and a low of 8,543.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 39.40 points or 0.45 percent to 8,789.30. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 4 percent, Mineral Resources is surging almost 5 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, Santos is edging down 0.3 percent and Origin Energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is adding almost 2 percent and Zip is edging up 0.5 percent. Appen and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Xero is losing almost 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent, Resolute Mining is advancing almost 4 percent and Newmont is adding more than 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.658 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is trading slightly lower in choppy trading on Thursday after opening in the red, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 39,750 level, with gains in technology stocks and a mixed performance in most other sectors.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,732.63, down 29.85 points or 0.08 percent, after touching a high of 39,844.67 and a low of 39,667.82 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent and Honda is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are losing more than 1 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among other major losers, Ryohin Keikaku is tumbling almost 6 percent and NH Foods is losing almost 5 percent, while Konami Group, Shimizu and Toho are declining more than 3 percent each. Taisei, Credit Saison, NEC and Hitachi are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Minebea Mitsumi is surging more than 5 percent, while Renesas Electronics and JFE Holdings are rising almost 5 percent each. Mazda Motor is gaining more than 4 percent, while Hino Motors and Kobe Steel are adding almost 4 percent each. Taiyo Yuden, Socionext, Nissan Motor, Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Materials and Sumco are advancing more than 3 percent each, while Dowa Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are up almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.2 percent, while New Zealand, China, Malaysia and Singapore are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 and 0.8 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moving back to the upside following the pullback seen during Tuesday's trading. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset yesterday's losses, once again reaching new record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 190.24 points or 0.9 percent to 20,393.13 and the S&P 500 climbed 29.41 points or 0.5 percent to 6,227.42, although the narrower Dow edged down 10.52 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,484.42.

The major European markets were also mixed on the day. The French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.0 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices made sharp gains on Wednesday, even as the Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, as Iran has challenged the IAEA's power to inspect its nuclear sites without its security council's approval. A falling US dollar also offered support for oil. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery closed up by $2.00 to settle at $67.45 per barrel.