Asian Stock Markets Mostly Lower Amid Weak Wall Street Performance

Strategic Insights -

Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday, weighed by Wall Street's weak finish and as the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement provided few fresh cues. Markets in Tokyo, Australia, and South Korea were also lower, while some markets in the region managed to end the day slightly higher. Investors were looking past the Fed statement and focusing on upcoming monetary policy meetings and U.S. jobs data.

Key Takeaways:

  • Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday, with the Japan's Nikkei 225 down 1.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 off 0.6%, and South Korea's Kospi Composite down 1.5%.
  • Wall Street's weak finish was a major contributing factor to the decline in Asian markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up just 0.3% after losing most of its intraday gains.
  • The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement provided few fresh cues, with the Fed maintaining its target interest rate and suggesting ultra-low rates would be maintained for an extended period.
  • Investors were concerned about limited gains in the U.S. market and the impact on Asian stocks, with some analysts predicting that markets in the region would continue to trade flat to slightly lower in coming days.
  • Sanyo Electric tumbled 19% after a report that Panasonic Corp. had bought a stake in the firm at a large discount.
  • Nissan Motor rose 1.1% on better-than-expected second quarter results, which included a 65% drop in net profit to Y25.53 billion for the July-September period.
  • Doosan Heavy and Doosan Infracore lost ground after reporting disappointing third-quarter earnings.
  • Australian banks were mostly higher despite falls for their U.S. peers, with Westpac up 0.5% after Macquarie Equities upgraded the stock to Outperform.
  • The U.S. dollar was down against the yen, with the euro also lower as Japanese exporters settled accounts.
  • Oil prices fell, with the Nymex December oil futures contract down 48 cents at $79.92 per barrel.

Statistics:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up just 0.3% after losing most of its intraday gains.
  • The Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.3% on Thursday.
  • The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.6% in Australia.
  • The Kospi Composite index was down 1.5% in South Korea.
  • Sanyo Electric tumbled 19% on a report that Panasonic Corp. had bought a stake in the firm.
  • Nissan Motor rose 1.1% on better-than-expected second quarter results.
  • Doosan Heavy lost 7.2% and Doosan Infracore lost 3.8% after reporting disappointing third-quarter earnings.
  • The U.S. dollar was at Y90.48 against the yen.
  • The euro was trading at $1.4844 against the dollar.
  • Oil prices fell, with the Nymex December oil futures contract down 48 cents at $79.92 per barrel.
  • Copper prices were down $23 to $6,552 per ton.

Sources:

  • Dow Jones Commodities News Select via Comtex
  • Dow Jones NewsWIRES
  • Sanyo Electric
  • Panasonic Corp.
  • Nissan Motor
  • Doosan Heavy
  • Doosan Infracore
  • Westpac
  • Macquarie Equities
  • TD Securities
  • Commonweath Bank
  • ANZ Bank
  • DBS Asia
  • European Central Bank
  • Bank of England
  • IG Markets
  • Chibagin Asset Management
  • Taurus Investment & Securities
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • Dow Jones Newswires
  • TalkbackAsia@dowjones.com