Asia Pac Markets Mostly Lower, Japan Equities Underperform

Regional Asia Pac equities are mostly in the red for Thursday trade. Japan markets have been the weakest performers. This follows strong US cash losses late in Wednesday trade. US futures have crept higher through the first part of Thursday trade. Eminis last +0.30% to 4764, but this is still nearly 1.4% off intra-session highs from Wednesday. Nasdaq futures are +0.40% higher.

• At this stage the Topix is off by 1%, while the Nikkei 225 is down nearly 1.6%. US losses from Wednesday have weighed, while a vehicle recall (on safety concerns) from Toyota has also been a weight on aggregate performance. Shares in the company down the most since May 2022 at one stage.
• China markets are higher at the break, the CSI 300 up nearly 0.50% and back above the 3300 level. This has bucked the broader trends in Asia Pac markets. Headlines crossed from the WSJ that the US is considering raising some tariffs on some China products, including EVs, so that may impact sentiment after the break.
• In HK, the HSI is off 0.24% at the break.
• Tech sensitive plays South Korea (Kospi -0.80%) and Taiwan (-0.60%) are both weaker as well.
• In SEA trends are mixed, but only the Singapore bourse and Thailand are modestly positive at this stage.