Asian Markets Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday, tracking the overnight fall in crude oil prices and the mixed cues from Wall Street after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise fed funds to between 1 percent and 1.25 percent, and will start "gradual" shrinking of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet "this year."

Meanwhile, investors are cautious after the Washington Post reported, citing officials, that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election has widened. The probe now seeks to determine whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 50.00 points or 0.86 percent to 5,783.90, off a low of 5782.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 46.80 points or 0.80 percent to 5,815.40.

The major miners are weak. BHP Billiton is losing 3 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is lower by more than 2 percent.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is losing almost 3 percent and Evolution Mining is down 2 percent.

In the oil space, Oil Search and Santos are lower by almost 3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down almost 2 percent.

In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are lower in a range of 0.2 percent to 1.4 percent.

Bellamy's Australia said it has generated A$14.3 million from the institutional component of its capital raising, while the retail component of the entitlement offer is set to open next Tuesday. The infant milk formula supplier's shares are gaining almost 8 percent.

Shares of Telstra are adding 0.5 percent after the telecom company said Wednesday it will cut 1,400 jobs over the next six months.

On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.5 percent in May, That beat forecasts for 5.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the April reading.

The Australian economy added 42,000 jobs in May - well above forecasts for 10,000 following the upwardly revised 46,100 added in the previous month.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7585, up from US$0.7556 on Wednesday.

The Japanese market is lower on a stronger yen and following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 88.03 points or 0.44 percent to 19,795.49, off a low of 19,755.34.

Among the major exporters, Canon is higher by almost 2 percent and Sony is advancing more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent.

Western Digital said that several of its subsidiaries have sought preliminary injunctive relief to prevent Toshiba from selling its three NAND flash-memory joint ventures operated with the company. Shares of Toshiba are lower by more than 1 percent.

Among automakers, Toyota is declining 1 percent and Honda is down 0.4 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.7 percent.

In the oil space, Inpex is down 1 percent and JXTG Holdings is losing more than 2 percent after crude oil prices fell overnight.

Among the other major gainers, FamilyMart UNY Holdings is rising almost 3 percent, Kajima is higher by more than 2 percent and Nippon Suisan Kaisha is advancing almost 2 percent.

On the flip side, Yokohama Rubber is losing more than 4 percent, Sumco Corp. is down almost 4 percent and TDK Corp. is lower by more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan begins its two-day monetary policy meeting today and will announce its decision on Friday.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid 109 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia are also in negative territory, while New Zealand and Taiwan are modestly higher.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months despite signs the U.S. economy has cooled off in 2017. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise fed funds to between 1 percent and 1.25 percent, and will start "gradual" shrinking of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet "this year."

The Dow rose 46.09 points or 0.2 percent to 21,374.56, while the Nasdaq fell 25.48 points or 0.4 percent to 6,194.89 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.43 points or 0.1 percent to 2,437.92.

The major European markets also ended mixed on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil futures dropped on Wednesday to their lowest since November after OPEC warned the global supply glut may worsen. July WTI oil dropped $1.73 or 3.7 percent to $44.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since November.