Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain concerned about the economic impact of the expanding conflict in the Middle East, with crude oil prices spiking to above $81 a barrel amid ongoing supply disruption. Strength among energy stocks helped limit the downside for the broader markets. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Iran has claimed it struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, raising fears of a wider conflict after the Islamic republic threatened to halt shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks but might be over sooner.

The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,850 level, with weakness financial and mining stocks partially offset by gains in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 101.20 points or 1.13 percent to 8,839.10, after hitting a low of 8,811.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 95.20 points or 1.04 percent to 9,069.70. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are tumbling more than 6 percent each, while Fortescue is declining almost 4 percent and Mineral Resources is losing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.4 percent. Woodside Energy is losing almost 3 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is advancing more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is jumping more than 6 percent, Zip is gaining more than 1 percent, Xero is surging more than 5 percent and Appen is advancing almost 6 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is losing more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are down almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are losing more than 4 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is tumbling more than 6 percent and Newmont is declining more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.704 on Friday.

The Japanese market is modestly higher on Friday after opening in the red, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving to near the 55,500 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and financial stocks partially offset by gains in index heavyweights and automaker stocks as well as a mixed performance in most other sectors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 55,490.04, up 211.98 points or 0.38 percent, after hitting a low of 54,513.43 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Thursday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.4 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony is gaining more than 2 percent, while Canon is edging down 0.3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 3 percent and Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, SHIFT is soaring more than 8 percent, while BayCurrent and Nomura Research Institute are jumping more than 6 percent each. Trend Micro is surging more than 5 percent, while Fujitsu, NEC and LY are advancing almost 5 percent each, while Sumitomo Pharma, Rakuten Group and Terumo are gaining more than 4 percent each. Tokuyama is rising almost 4 percent, while M3, Mercari and Kyowa Kirin are adding more than 3 percent each. Marui Group is up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Fujikura is tumbling almost 7 percent, while Casio Computer and Mitsui Kinzoku are sliding more than 5 percent each. Obayashi, Furukawa Electric, Nippon Electric Glass and Sumitomo Metal Mining are declining almost 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Toyota Tsusho, Lasertec, Fuji Electric, Taisei, Mitsubishi Materials, IHI and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are slipping more than 3 percent each.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is up 1.1 percent, while China, Malaysia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.2 percent each. South Korea and Indonesia are down 1.2 percent each. New Zealand and Singapore are down 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the downside during trading on Thursday after turning in a strong performance in the previous session. The major averages all moved lower, with the Dow slumping to its lowest closing level in well over two months.

The major averages saw a notable recovery attempt in the final hour of trading but still closed in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 784.67 points or 1.6 percent to 47,954.74, the S&P 500 slid 38.79 points or 0.6 percent to 6,830.71 and the Nasdaq fell 58.50 points or 0.3 percent to 22,748.99.

The major European markets all also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both slumped 1.5 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed again on Thursday, resuming the surge seen earlier in the week in reaction to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $6.51 or 8.7 percent to $81.17 a barrel and has soared $14.15 or 21.1 percent so far this week.