How Are Asian Markets Doing Today?

There remains no end in sight for U.S. stimulus negotiations, taking a toll on the markets. Major U.S. indices closed lower on Wednesday with the Dow losing 0.35%, the S&P 500 down 0.22%, and the Nasdaq down 0.28%. The presidential election is two weeks away and the stimulus optimism is fizzing out as seen from the Dow futures trading lower by 0.73% and the S&P 500 futures losing 0.75% early Thursday.

Wednesday was a rough day for Europe, as indices in major markets plunged. Asian markets are trading lower on Thursday, following the negativity flowing from the U.S., Europe, and the International Monetary Fund, which expects the Asian economy to contract 2.2% in 2020.

Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark has shed 0.71% at press time, led by a fall in all major sectors. Foreign investments in Japan numbers released late Wednesday showed an outflow of 94 billion Yen in stocks and an inflow of 419.8 billion Yen in bonds. Investors will be watching the consumer price index, manufacturing PMI, and services PMI data scheduled on Thursday.

China's Shanghai Composite benchmark is trading lower by 0.83% at publication time, led by a decline in consumer, services, energy, healthcare, and industrial shares. There are no major economic events scheduled for China on Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has lost 0.37% as of the last check. Investors will be watching September's consumer price index data due to release later in the day.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is lower by 0.35% towards the end of the trading session, led by a fall in energy and financial stocks. On the economic data front, manufacturing PMI, services PMI, and business confidence index data are scheduled for Thursday.

India's Nifty 50 index is cooling off after four days of gains, 0.34% lower in early trade. Autos, energy, and healthcare names are falling, partially offset by gains in media and realty shares. There are no major economic events scheduled for the day.

South Korea's KOSPI is down 1.13% in afternoon trade. 

Forex Trading: U.S. Dollar Index futures are trading 0.19% higher 92.775 early Thursday, after declining for four days straight. The dollar is showing strength against the major Asian currencies, gaining 0.15% to 104.72 against the Yen and 0.24% to 6.6665 against the Chinese Yuan.