Energy firms track plunge in oil, Asia markets temper losses

Oil prices have plunged since hitting four-year highs in early October. (Photo: AFP/David McNew)

Nissan recovered marginally after France and Japan sought to reassure on the future of its tie-up with Renault following the arrest of head Carlos Ghosn on Monday, although Mitsubishi extended its drop.

While investors in all sectors are essentially in selling mode of late, firms linked to the oil industry are among the worst hit as the price of crude continues to plunge on concerns about demand and high production.

The commodity took another battering on Tuesday, with both main contracts down more than six per cent following another Wall Street sell-off and as traders fret that Saudi Arabia might not deliver on planned production cuts.

Donald Trump's support for Riyadh in the case of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been taken by some observers as a move to prevent them from lowering output at the December meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members.

"At the heart of the matter is the lack of market respect for OPEC rhetoric regarding deep production cuts, (which) have been ignored as the market now questions if the projected reduction would be entirely sufficient to rebalance markets given the expected glut in the first quarter," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA.

Adding to the dour mood is the China-US trade war - which shows no signs of easing just a week before Trump and China's Xi Jinping are due to meet - as well as US waivers on buying Iranian oil and a slowing global economy.

Crude prices have plunged almost 30 per cent from their four-year highs touched at the start of October.

Brent and WTI rose Wednesday but regional energy shares fell. Hong Kong-listed CNOOC lost more than two per cent, while PetroChina shed two per cent and Sinopec was 1.4 per cent off. Inpex dived 3.3 per cent in Tokyo and Woodside Petroleum lost 2.1 per cent in Sydney.

'STRONG SUPPORT'

Broader markets were mostly negative but some managed to claw into positive territory.

Tokyo fell 0.4 per cent, Sydney dropped 0.5 per cent and Seoul slipped 0.3 per cent with Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also in the red.

However, Hong Kong edged up 0.5 per cent and Shanghai added 0.2 per cent.

Unease was also stirred by more comments from Trump knocking the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, saying it was "a problem", while the central bank has also suggested the positive effects of his tax cut will likely fade next year.

Joe Davis, global chief economist at Vanguard, warned that he saw more trouble ahead.

"We may not be through the market volatility because we're still not at a 'fair value' for the equity market," he told Bloomberg TV. "We remain guarded in our return expectations," with prospects for a "bumpy ride over the next several months."

In Tokyo, car giant Nissan rose 0.4 per cent, having plunged Tuesday on news of Ghosn's arrest over alleged financial misconduct, including under-reporting his income. However, Mitsubishi gave up early gains to fall one per cent.

There is speculation Ghosn's downfall could lead to the break-up of their alliance with French giant Renault but French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and his Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko reaffirmed the "strong support" of their governments to the alliance.

The gains come despite a report in Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily saying prosecutors believe Nissan also has a case to answer, while later Wednesday it was reported that prosecutors had been granted a 10-day extension to Ghosn's detention.

Nissan will decide Thursday whether to remove Ghosn as chairman, with Renault already saying it will stick with him as CEO.

Regional tech firms were mixed after another hammering for US titans including Apple, Microsoft and Netflix.

In currency trading the pound edged up against the dollar as British Prime Minister Theresa May heads to Brussels to hammer out the finer details of her Brexit plan, buoyed by the fact hardliners in her party are struggling to muster support for a leadership challenge.

In early trade, London was up 0.2 per cent, Paris added 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt gained 0.7 per cent.

- Key figures around 0820 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 per cent at 21,507.54 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.5 per cent at 25,971.47 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 per cent at 2,651.51 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 per cent at 6,962.26

Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1397 from US$1.1370 at 2200 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at US$1.2818 from US$1.2787

Dollar/yen: UP at ¥112.89 from ¥112.75

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 81 cents at US$54.24 per barrel

Oil - Brent Crude: UP 80 cents at US$63.33 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 2.2 per cent at 24,465.64 (close)