Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to meet to resolve tariff issues. Optimism about interest rate cut by the US Fed later this week is also aiding market sentiment. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Traders are now looking ahead to the release of the delayed publication of September U.S. consumer price index data later in the day. The data could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the US Fed's monetary policy meeting later in the week.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, investors are betting on 98.9% chances of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in the upcoming October 28-29 Federal Reserve's meeting.

The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Friday after opening in the green, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 9,050 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by gains in iron ore miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 15.10 points or 0.17 percent to 9,017.70, after touching a high of 9,054.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 12.10 points or 0.13 percent to 9,317.00. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining 1.5 percent and Mineral Resources is surging more than 6 percent, while Fortescue is losing almost 2 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is down almost 1 percent and Santos is losing more than 1 percent, while Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging up 0.5 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent, Zip is adding almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 4 percent and Xero is up almost 1 percent. Appen is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are losing more than 1 percent each. Westpac is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is down more than percent, Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Newmont is declining more than 3 percent, while Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In other news, shares in Mount Gibson Iron are plummeting almost 28 percent after the miner was announced the suspension of mining at an 80-year-old iron ore mine on Koolan Island due to last week's irreparable rockfall and associated safety concerns.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia slipped into contraction in October, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.7. That's down from 51.4 in September, and it falls beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The services PMI improved to 53.1, up from 52.4 in September, while the composite ticked up to 52.6 from 52.4 a month earlier.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Friday.

Reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is sharply higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving up to near the 49,300 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks. Financial stocks were the only weak spot.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,299.12, up 657.51 points or 1.35 percent, after touching a high of 49,354.57 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent and Honda is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is adding almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony is declining almost 1 percent, while Canon is edging up 0.5 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is surging more than 5 percen and Disco is gaining 4.5 percent, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Hitachi and Resonac Holdings are advancing more than 3 percent each. Yaskawa Electric, SMC, Lasertec and Daikin Industries are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nidec is tumbling more than 7 percent and IHI is losing almost 3 percent.

In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were up 2.9 percent on year in September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication said on Friday. That was in line with expectations and up from 2.7 percent in August. On a monthly basis, inflation was up 0.1 percent - steady from the August reading. Core CPI also rose an annual 2.9 percent - again matching forecasts and up from 2.7 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 152 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 2.0 percent, while New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. Taiwan is bucking the trend and is down 0.4 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Thursday following the weakness seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 201.40 points or 0.9 percent to 22,941.80, the S&P 500 climbed 39.04 points or 0.6 percent to 6,738.44 and the Dow rose 144.20 points or 0.3 percent at 46,734.61.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both crept up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday, extending gains from the past two sessions, as the U.S. imposed sanctions against Russian oil majors. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $3.22 or 5.50 percent at $61.72 per barrel.