Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained cautious and were reluctant to take up long positions ahead of key data from the U.S. They also continued to pick up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

The Australian stock market is sharply lower in post-holiday trading on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by iron ore miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 102.00 points or 1.33 percent to 7,581.00, after hitting a low of 7,575.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 94.90 points or 1.20 percent to 7,842.60. Australian markets ended relatively flat on Wednesday ahead of a holiday on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 2 percent, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 3 percent and BHP Group is slipping more than 4 percent after revealing a $39 billion bid for rival Anglo American. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 3 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and Appen is declining almost 4 percent, while Zip is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank down almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is declining almost 2 percent. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Shares in Newmont are skyrocketing more than 14 percent on reports it will divest its Fruta del Norte asset for US$360 million to Lundin Gold as part of its strategy to optimise its portfolio of gold mines after the acquisition of Newcrest.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Friday.

Recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is notably higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 37,700 level, as traders remained cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision and some picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,780.35, up 151.87 points or 0.40 percent, after touching a high of 37,852.97 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is flat. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and are gaining almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding more than 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.5 percent and Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Panasonic is down more than 1 percent. Canon is gaining more than 3 percent.

Among other major gainers, Keyence is surging more than 6 percent and T&D Holdings is gaining almost 5 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo, Socionext and CyberAgent are adding more than 4 percent each. Canon is up more than 3 percent, while Dai-ichi Life, Daikin Industries, Nidec and Sumco are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Shin-Etsu Chemical is losing almost 6 percent, Fujitsu is down more than 4 percent and M3 is declining almost 3 percent.

In economic news, consumer prices in the Tokyo region of Japan were up 1.8 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was beneath estimates for an annual gain of 2.6 percent, which would have been unchanged from the March reading. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile costs of food prices, advanced 1.6 percent on year - also well shy of forecasts for an increase of 2.2 percent and slowing from 2.4 percent in the previous month.

The Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Friday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 0.1 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are higher by between 1.1 and 1.7 percent each, while China, Singapore and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. New Zealand and Indonesia are down 0.8 and 0.6 percent, respectively. On Wall Street, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but remained mostly lower after moving sharply lower early in the session. The major averages all finished the day in negative territory after ending Wednesday's trading narrowly mixed.

The Dow slumped 375.12 points or 1.0 percent to 38,085.80 after plunging by more than 700 points in early trading. The Nasdaq slid 100.99 points or 0.6 percent to 15,611.76 and the S&P 500 fell 23.21 points or 0.5 percent at 5,048.42.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, despite data showing slower than expected U.S. first-quarter GDP growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.76 or about 0.92% at $83.57 a barrel.