FX.co ★ Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets are predominantly down on Thursday, reflecting mixed signals from global markets overnight. Technology stocks have taken a hit due to a sell-off in U.S. semiconductor stocks and anticipated tighter trade restrictions on Chinese companies by the U.S. Government. Concerns over the potential impact of another Trump presidency on global trade also weigh heavy. On Wednesday, Asian markets showed mixed results.

The Biden administration is contemplating new trade restrictions, including tougher sanctions on firms exporting critical chipmaking equipment to China.

Former President Donald Trump, who is currently leading the race for the upcoming November election, proposed that Taiwan should compensate the U.S. for defense, alleging that Taiwan has consumed "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

In Australia, the market is slightly down on Thursday, retracting some gains from the previous session due to the mixed international cues. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 remains above the 8,000 mark but has slipped slightly from an all-time high. This decline is mainly driven by weakness in technology stocks, mirroring movements on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, although gains in energy and financial stocks provided some cushion.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 28.10 points or 0.35 percent to 8,029.80, after hitting a high of 8,070.40 and a low of 8,029.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index has fallen by 35.20 points or 0.42 percent to 8,268.30. On Wednesday, Australian stocks closed significantly higher.

In the mining sector, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, and BHP Group remain stable, while Mineral Resources is down more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks generally show gains. Woodside Energy and Beach Energy each rise nearly 1 percent, with Origin Energy and Santos edging up by 0.4 to 0.5 percent.

In technology, Xero is down over 2 percent, Appen is declining more than 4 percent, and WiseTech Global is sliding almost 4 percent. However, Afterpay owner Block is up almost 1 percent and Zip is soaring over 8 percent.

Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are seeing slight increases of 0.2 to 0.4 percent, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are up almost 1 percent each.

In the gold mining sector, Evolution Mining is up over 4 percent, Resolute Mining is incrementally up by 0.5 percent, and Newmont is almost 1 percent higher. In contrast, Gold Road Resources is down almost 1 percent, and Northern Star Resources has edged down 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere, shares of Accent Group have surged more than 9 percent following a profit update and the announcement to close 18 underperforming Glue stores from its youth fashion line.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.673 on Thursday.

The Japanese market extends its losses from the previous session, down sharply on Thursday with the Nikkei 225 plunging 800 points below the 40,300 level. This drop is driven by widespread weakness in most sectors, especially technology stocks, aligning with trends on the Nasdaq. Financial stocks, however, remain a bright spot.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,277.86, down 819.83 points or 1.99 percent, after hitting a low of 40,112.56 earlier. Japanese shares had ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is down more than 5 percent, and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing has fallen 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is down nearly 3 percent, and Honda has declined by more than 2 percent.

In technology, Advantest is down more than 4 percent, Tokyo Electron has plunged almost 10 percent, and Screen Holdings is down over 8 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is up almost 1 percent, Mizuho Financial has a slight gain of 0.1 percent, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up more than 1 percent.

Among major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are each down over 2 percent, while Canon is down 0.5 percent and Panasonic has declined nearly 1 percent.

Other major losers include Disco, down more than 8 percent, Socionext falling over 6 percent, and Renesas Electronics and Lasertec each dropping almost 6 percent. Mazda Motor, Fujikura, Resonac Holdings, and Sumco are each down nearly 5 percent, while Ebara and Hoya have each slipped more than 4 percent, and SMC is down nearly 4 percent.

Conversely, Nichirei is up over 5 percent, with Nitori Holdings, Kansai Electric Power each rising more than 3 percent. Asahi Group is nearly 3 percent higher.

In economic news, Japan reported a merchandise trade surplus of 224.038 billion yen in June, exceeding expectations for a 240.0 billion yen deficit, following a 1,220.1 billion yen deficit in May.In the most recent economic update, exports experienced a 5.4 percent year-on-year increase, reaching 9.208 trillion yen. Despite this growth, the figure fell short of the projected 6.4 percent increase and was lower compared to the 13.5 percent rise recorded in the previous month. Imports saw a 3.2 percent annual increase to 8.984 trillion yen, which also missed the anticipated 9.3 percent gain and was down from the 9.5 percent growth seen a month earlier.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is currently trading in the lower 156 yen range as of Thursday.

Across Asian markets, Taiwan and South Korea experienced declines of 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Other regions including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia reported downturns ranging from 0.2 to 0.7 percent. New Zealand's market remained relatively stable, while Indonesia distinguished itself by rising 0.6 percent.

On Wall Street, the stock performance was mixed on Wednesday amidst geopolitical concerns and a profit warning from Dutch semiconductor company ASML, creating a cautious trading environment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced by 243.60 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 41,198.08. Conversely, the S&P 500 fell by 78.93 points, or 1.39 percent, to 5,588.27, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 512.42 points, or 2.77 percent, concluding at 17,996.92.

European markets also exhibited mixed results. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 declined by 0.44 percent and 0.12 percent, respectively, whereas the U.K.'s FTSE 100 increased by 0.28 percent.

In the commodities sector, crude oil prices surged significantly on Wednesday. This increase followed an unexpected and sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories, coupled with support from a weaker dollar. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for August jumped $2.09, or 2.6 percent, settling at $82.85 per barrel.