Overseas Markets Down in Early Trading

(NewsCore) - Japanese and Australian stocks traded lower early Thursday, with banks in Japan retreating in line with their US peers after a raft of weak eurozone data.

The Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.2 percent to 9,535.12, while the Topix moved 0.3 percent lower.

A surprise contraction in European business activity helped push shares of globally exposed banks downward, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. dropping 1.7 percent, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. giving up 1.2 percent and Shinsei Bank Ltd. off by one percent.

Stock in Mazda Motor Corp. plunged 8.2 percent as the car maker confirmed plans to issue new shares.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.2 percent at 4,286.60.

Miners were lower, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. down 0.9 percent and Rio Tinto Ltd. also down 0.9 percent.

Investors were also keeping an eye on earnings, with airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. up 6.9 percent but Fairfax Media Ltd. down 2.4 percent after updating investors.

In the US, stocks closed lower Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 27.02 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,938.67, its first down day in four. The S&P 500 fell 4.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,357.66, also quitting three straight days of gains.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 15.40 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,933.17; the tech-weighted index has lost ground for three days.