Asian markets are mostly lower Thursday in the aftermath of Wall Street’s big losses a day earlier, sparked by growing pessimism over the tightening grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo lost 0.3% in its trading session. Sydney’s S&P/ASX index closed 1.6% lower. The KOSPI index in Seoul was down 0.7%, and Taipei’s TSEC index lost 1%.
In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down 0.4% in late afternoon trading, while Mumbai’s Sensex is 0.3% lower.
The lone bright spot in the region was Shanghai’s Composite index, which gained 0.1%.
In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,881.40 per ounce, up 0.1%. U.S. crude oil is selling at $37.26 per barrel, down 0.3%, and Brent crude oil is selling at $38.96 per barrel, down 0.4%.
All three U.S. indices are trending higher in futures trading, a day after losing an average of 3.5%.