Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the broadly negative cues on Wall Street overnight, as a spike in crude oil prices renewed global inflation concerns after US President Donald Trump said the U.S. is no longer interested in any deal to end the war with Iran as Iran adopted a confrontationist approach. Markets in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are surging amid a rebound in semiconductor stocks. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

Trump downplayed the prospects of a comprehensive diplomatic solution, halted the U.S.-Iran negotiation process that Vice President Vance was advancing, and instead accepted a stalemate characterized by "no war, no talks."

Trump also indicated he may use military force against Iran if U.S. allies and ships are threatened.

The shift by Trump has led to concerns about prolonged supply disruptions as the U.S. continues to put economic pressure on Tehran with its blockade of Iranian ports and Operation Iron Gate.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei stressed that Iran will never allow a single grain of enriched nuclear particle to move out.

Denying any official U.S.-Iran meeting, Rezaei claimed that the U.S. is making false claims about negotiations solely to bring down oil prices and ease pressure on the U.S. economy.

Both the U.S. and Iran continuing to assert their authority over the Strait of Hormuz, which has been shut by Iran since the start of war, shipping traffic has come down to single digits.

The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Friday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 9,100 level, with weakness in mining, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 60.50 points or 0.66 percent to 9,086.30, after hitting a low of 9,057.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 64.10 points or 0.69 percent to 9,210.10. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is declining more than 1 percent, while Fortescue, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is declining almost 4 percent, Zip is sliding more than 1 percent, Appen is declining more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent, while Xero is gaining almost 1 percent after announcing a $1 billion share buyback.

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

Gold miners are weak. Northern Star Resources is losing more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is tumbling more than 5 percent, Newmont is slipping almost 3 percent, Evolution Mining is declining almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding almost 4 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.681 on Friday.

The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Friday, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 61,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 61,816.72, up 997.36 points or 1.64 percent, after touching a high of 61,902.50 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.3 percent, while Honda is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is surging more than 5 percent, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 1 percent, while Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent, Sony is adding more than 1 percent and Canon is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among other major gainers, Amada is soaring more than 11 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust is jumping more than 6 percent, Haseko is surging more than 6 percent, Recruit Holdings is jumping almost 6 percent, Trend Micro is advancing more than 5 percent and BayCurrent is gaining almost 5 percent, while Nippon Electric Glass Kioxia Holdings are adding more than 4 percent each. Sapporo Holdings and Kokusai Electric are rising almost 4 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing, Socionext, NGK, Sumitomo Pharma and Lasertec are up more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Terumo is tumbling more than 8 percent, Haseko is sliding more than 6 percent and Mercari is losing more than 3 percent.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and South Korea are surging 2.6 and 1.3 percent, respectively. China and Indonesia are up 0.4 and 0.7 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong are lower by between 0.6 and 0.9 percent each. Malaysia is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks recovered from an initial slump but moved back to the downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all finished the day in negative territory, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 partly offsetting Wednesday's strong gains.

After plunging by as much as 1.6 percent in early trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 100.09 points or 0.4 percent to 25,366.09. The S&P 500 also fell 26.98 points or 0.4 percent to 7,592.40, while the Dow declined 189.40 points or 0.4 percent to 52,297.09.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Thursday as supply disruptions concerns resurfaced after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is no longer interested in any deal with Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose $1.96 or 2.27 percent at $88.49 per barrel.