Asia report: Markets lose out as oil weakens

Markets in Asia ended Wednesday mostly lower, following the lead of other markets slumping as oil prices lost out and the greenback gained.

The yen pared back some of its steep advances of recent sessions. It had dipped as low as JPY 105.66 overnight before markets opened, from well above JPY 111 last week against the US dollar. It was last trading 0.62% weaker at JPY 106.82 per USD.

Tokyo markets remained closed for the Greenery Day holiday on Wednesday, having also stayed locked up on Tuesday for Constitution Day.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.05% at 2,991.1, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 0.021% at 1,928.63.

In Korea, the Kospi lost 0.49% to close at 1,976.71, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.73% at 20,525.83.

"Equity market sentiment seems to be rolling over globally as the wind begins to come out of the oil price rally," said IG market analyst Angus Nicholson in a note.

Oil prices were mixed after Asian markets closed, with Brent crude last ahead by 0.11% at $45.02, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.07% to $43.62 per barrel.

Down under, the S&P/ASX 200 finished down 1.55% at 5,271.1. It was dragged down by a 5.11% loss in the energy subindex and a 5.91% loss in materials.

Rio Tinto slid a serious 7.54% in Sydney, while Fortescue Metals was down 4.86%.

Fortescue was down after its group CEO Nev Power said he was expecting iron ore prices to stabilise, as Beijing did its best to curb commodity market speculation in China in a bid to stop prices rallying.

Shares in BHP Billiton also plummeted by 9.36%, as investors took in the news of a BRR 155bn civil lawsuit against itself, Samarco and Vale for a deadly dam spill in Brazil in November.

New Zealand markets also lost out, with the S&P/NZX 50 dropping 0.3% to 6,824.49.

It was led lower by Air New Zealand, as investors were still digesting the airline’s revelation it won’t match its NZD 800m earnings forecast for 2016 as it faced a steep increase in competition, particularly on mid-haul and long-haul routes from Auckland.

The Kiwi slipped back against the US dollar, and was last 0.4% weaker at NZD 1.4520. The Aussie also weakened by 0.24%, and was last sitting at AUD 1.3393 per dollar.