Asian markets are broadly lower on Thursday, reflecting weakness in tech stocks following the overnight pullback by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Australian shares are declining after the government announced it would launch an inquiry into the banking sector. Meanwhile, data showing that China's official manufacturing PMI for November topped expectations failed to boost investor sentiment.
The Australian market is declining, following the mixed cues from Wall Street and lower commodity prices. Banking stocks are declining after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a royal commission into misconduct in Australia's banking sector.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 31.70 points or 0.53 percent to 5,979.40, off a low of 5,949.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 31.80 points or 0.52 percent to 6,064.30.
The big four banks - ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac - are lower in a range of 0.8 percent to 1.2 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is declining more than 1 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is losing more than 2 percent and Evolution Mining is down 1 percent.
Oil stocks are also weak after crude oil prices fell overnight. Woodside Petroleum is down 0.2 percent, Oil Search is declining 0.5 percent and Santos is lower by almost 2 percent.
Aristocrat Leisure said its net profit for the year to September 30 jumped 41.3 percent and anticipates continued growth in fiscal 2018. However, the poker machine supplier's shares are losing almost 4 percent.
CIMIC Group said that a joint venture in which its subsidiary Leighton Asia holds a 70 percent stake has secured a A$390 million contract for construction work at Hong Kong international airport. Shares of CIMIC Group are down 1 percent.
OrotonGroup said it has appointed voluntary administrators after a review failed to find a viable option for recapitalization or selling the business following a seven-month strategic review. The luxury handbag retailer's shares are suspended from trading.
Meanwhile, AWE Ltd's shares are gaining more than 13 percent after the oil and gas group said it is considering a A$430 million unsolicited takeover bid from a Chinese state-owned company.
Tabcorp Holdings said it has settled online wagering company CrownBet's opposition to it's A$11 billion merger deal with rival Tatts Group. Tabcorp's shares are up 1 percent.
On the economic front, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that private sector credit in Australia was up 0.4 percent on month in October, in line with expectations and up from 0.3 percent in September.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that private new capital expenditure in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017, standing at A$29.368 billion. That was in line with expectations following the 1.1 percent increase in the three months prior.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said that the total number of building approvals issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent on month in October, coming in at 19,074. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.0 percent following the downwardly revised 0.6 percent monthly increase.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar has recouped some of its overnight losses, but still remained lower against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the local unit was quoted at US$0.7570, down from $0.7588 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is modestly lower following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and reflecting weakness in technology stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 32.29 points or 0.14 percent to 22,564.91, off a low of 22,502.68 earlier.
The major exporters and tech stocks are lower despite a weaker yen. Sony is lower by more than 2 percent, Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down almost 1 percent, while Canon is adding 0.3 percent. Nintendo is losing more than 2 percent and SoftBank is down almost 3 percent.
Shares of Oriental Land Co. are higher by more than 3 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported that the operator of Tokyo Disneyland will investor more than 300 billion yen, or $2.7 billion, to upgrade and expand its resort in Japan.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are rising more than 2 percent each. Among automakers, Toyota is rising 0.2 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is rising 0.2 percent and Japan Petroleum is advancing 0.6 percent despite crude oil prices falling overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Nisshinbo Holdings is gaining almost 12 percent, Fukuoka Financial is rising more than 5 percent and Marui Group is higher by more than 5 percent.
On the flip side, Yaskawa Electric is losing more than 6 percent, Recruit Holdings is lower by almost 4 percent and Fuji Electric Co is down more than 3 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that industrial output in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on month in October. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 1.8 percent following the 1.0 percent decline in September.
Japan will also see October data for vehicle production, housing starts and construction orders today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 112 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are all lower, while New Zealand is edging higher.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with the Dow climbing to a record closing high and the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a sharp move to the downside. The pullback by the Nasdaq was partly due to profit taking, as traders cashed in on recent strength among tech stocks amid concerns the companies won't see as much of a benefit from proposed tax reform.
The Dow climbed 103.97 points or 0.4 percent to 23,940.68, while the Nasdaq plunged 88.02 points or 1.3 percent to 6,824.34 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.97 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,626.07.
The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line.
Crude oil futures fell Wednesday despite data showing another significant decline in U.S. oil stockpiles. January WTI oil dipped $0.69 or 1.2 percent to settle at $57.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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