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, boosted by technology stocks which mirrored their peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, with the gains capped by a spike in crude oil prices that renewed inflation concerns. Market sentiment also improved after Qatar renewed efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran back for peace talks. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Traders now await U.S. moves after Iran and Oman reached an agreement to create a temporary maritime corridor in the Strait of Hormuz.

Traders also await a speech by U.S. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the day to derive clues on interest rates.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 66.1 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged next month and a 33.9 percent chance of a quarter point rate hike.

The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 9,150 level, with gains in gold miners, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 23.20 points or 0.26 percent to 9,061.40, after touching a high of 9,077.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 23.30 points or 0.25 percent to 9,266.50. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent, while BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent and Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy, Origin Energy and Santos are adding almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent and Xero is surging more than 5 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are advancing more than 3 percent each. Appen is jumping almost 11 percent after reporting upbeat first-half results on China growth.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is advancing more than 2 percent. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.1 percent.

In other news, shares in Dicker Data are jumping more than 13 percent after posting upbeat results for the first half of 2026 and lifting full-year guidance.

Shares in WAM Capital are tumbling almost 15 percent after trimming its full-year 2027 dividend target on a tough year and portfolio underperformance in fiscal 2026.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.720 on Friday.

The Japanese market is trading notably higher on Friday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 66,650 level, with gains across most sectors led by exporter and technology stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 66,665.67, up 533.69 points or 0.83 percent, after touching a high of 66,816.45 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is adding almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is up more than 1 percent and Honda is advancing more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is advancing almost 2 percent, Screen Holdings is adding more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is advancing more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining more than 2 percent and Canon is adding almost 1 percent, while Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are advancing more than 1 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Trend Micro is surging almost 5 percent, while SHIFT and Fujitsu are advancing more than 4 percent each. Nomura Research Institute and M3 are gaining almost 4 percent each, while NEC, Hitachi, BayCurrent and Sumco are adding more than 3 percent each. Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors, Recruit Holdings, Nintendo and Taiyo Yuden are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kioxia Holdings is losing more than 4 percent.

In economic news, overall inflation in the Tokyo region of Japan rose 1.9 percent on year in August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications or MIAC said on Friday. That was in line with expectations following the downwardly revised 1.8 percent annual increase in July (originally 2.0 percent). Core CPI was up 1.8 percent on year, matching expectations and up from the downwardly revised 1.7 percent in the previous month (originally 1.9 percent).

The MIAC also said the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in July. That was below expectations for 2.5 percent, which would have been unchanged. The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.18 - unchanged from the previous month but shy of forecasts for 1.19.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 1.1 percent each, while New Zealand, South Korea and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated in the afternoon but managed to end the day firmly positive after showing a notable upward move in morning trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong move to the upside.

The Nasdaq jumped 411.16 points or 1.6 percent to 26,541.35 and the S&P 500 advanced 55.29 points or 0.7 percent to 7,730.99. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 105.56 points or 0.2 percent to 53,569.44.

Meanwhile, most European stocks moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.35 or 1.64 percent at $83.58 per barrel.