Asian Markets A Sea Of Red

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly sell-off on Wall Street overnight, after the recent release of stronger-than-expected US economic data and the slightly hawkish Fed minutes renewed concerns the US Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer than previously thought. The concerning escalation in the tensions between Taiwan and China is also weighing on the markets. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Extending the losses in the previous three sessions, the Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 7,700 level, with losses across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices, and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 88.50 points or 1.13 percent to 7,723.30, after hitting a low of 7,716.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 88.40 points or 1.09 percent to 7,994.70. Australian markets ended notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are declining more than 1 percent each. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent. Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global and Xero are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 2 percent and Zip is declining more than 1 percent. Appen is surging more than 5 percent after it told investors at its annual general meeting that it expects to reach breakeven on an operating basis in financial 2024.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are losing more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is down almost 1 percent. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent, Newmont is edging down 0.5 percent, Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is declining more than 2 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.659 on Friday.

Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 38,700 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

Traders reacted to data showing Japan's core inflation rate slowed to 2.2 percent in April from 2.6 percent in March, in line with expectations. However, the figure kept the Bank of Japan under pressure to tighten policy further as it remained above the central bank's 2 precent target.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,649.15, down 454.07 points or 1.16 percent, after hitting a low of 38,367.70 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also down more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is also edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is slipping almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among major exporters, Canon is edging down 0.3 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are declining almost 2 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Fuji Electric is plunging more than 10 percent and Socionext is losing almost 5 percent, while M3 and Lasertec are declining almost 4 percent each. Yamaha and Tokyo Tatemono are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Shiseido is surging more than 5 percent, DIC is gaining more than 3 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is adding more than 3 percent and Fujikura is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 157 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea are down between 1.3 and 1.0 percent each, while China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. Indonesia remains closed for Wesak Day. On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher at the start of trading on Thursday but failed to sustain the initial upward move and came under pressure over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and into negative territory.

After reaching record intraday highs, the Nasdaq fell 65.51 points or 0.4 percent to 16,736.03 and the S&P 500 slid 39.17 points or 0.7 percent to 5,267.84. The narrower Dow showed a more significant move to the downside, tumbling 605.78 points or 1.5 percent to 39,065.26.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also finished the day mixed after seeing early strength. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Thursday for a fourth straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand, and on data showing an unexpected jump in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July sank $0.70 or 0.9 percent at $76.87 a barrel.