Asian Markets Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, as traders continued to take advantage of the recent slump in the markets as they picked up stocks at reduced levels, even as concerns remain about interest rates and the outlook for global economic growth. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Traders are looking ahead to the release of the closely watched monthly employment data for September later in the day for further cues. Extending the gains in the previous session, the Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 6,900 level, boosted by gains across most sectors, led by miners and financial stocks, partially offset by losses in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 44.80 points or 0.65 percent to 6,970.30, after touching a high of 6,972.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 40.30 points or 0.57 percent to 7,157.80. Australian markets ended notably higher on Thursday.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Zip is adding almost 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.2 percent. Appen is losing more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are gaining more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is adding 1.5 percent and Westpac is advancing almost 2 percent. Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is adding 1.5 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 2 percent. Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.3 percent.

In other news, shares in Magellan Financial Group are plunging more than 11 percent after it reported a $4 billion drop in funds under management in September.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.638 on Friday.

Giving up some of the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell a tad below the 31,000 mark, with weakness in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 30,998.80, down 76.56 points or 0.25 percent, after hitting a low of 30,928.16 and a high of 31,160.45 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent, while Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing 2.5 percent, Screen Holdings is declining almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is slipping more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among major exporters, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent and Sony is edging up 0.3 percent, while Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is flat.

Among other major losers, Taiyo Yuden is losing more than 3 percent and UBE is declining almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Keisei Electric Railway, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Oji Holdings are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Kansai Electric Power, Ajinomoto, Kobe Steel, Suzuki Motor and Kajima are adding almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the average of household spending was down 2.5 percent on year in August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 293,161 yen. That beat expectations for a decline of 4.3 percent following the 5.0 percent decline in July.

On a monthly basis, household spending jumped 3.9 percent - again topping forecasts for a gain of 0.9 percent following the 2.7 percent fall in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 544,043 yen, down 6.9 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 148 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is up 1.9 percent, while South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each. New Zealand is bucking the trend and is down 0.7 percent. China remain closed for the National Day holiday On Wall Street, stocks came under pressure early in the session on Thursday but staged a notable recovery attempt over the course of the trading day. The major averages peeked above the unchanged line late in the session but closed modestly lower.

After falling by nearly 190 points in early trading, the Dow ended the day down just 9.98 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 33,119.57. The Nasdaq edged down 16.18 points or 0.1 percent to 13,219.83, while the S&P 500 slipped 5.56 points or 0.1 percent to 4,258.19.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for demand and due to disappointment over OPEC's decision to not increase the size of production cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.91 or 2.3 percent at $82.31 a barrel.