Asia Stocks Trade Lower Ahead of Australia's Jobs Data Release

In the United States, the main stock indexes declined in overnight trade, as certain states are preparing to open up gradually, although it could take a longer time than initially expected for the US economy to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stocks in Asia declined slightly on Thursday morning, according to CNBC News, as investors wait for Australia to release its jobs data for April.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was 0.6 percent lower, while the Topix index also slipped 0.61 percent. South Korea's Kospi also dipped 0.9 percent in early trade.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.7 percent.

Overall in the region, the MSCI Asia-ex Japan index dropped 0.37 percent.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 516.81 points lower at 23,247.97. The S&P 500 fell around 1.75 percent to close at 2,820, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.6 percent to finish its trading day at 8,863.17.

According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, the US economy may take several months longer to recover from the devastation from the coronavirus outbreak than was initially expected, and a deeper recession could leave lasting damage on the nation's productive capacity.