Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are optimistic the US Fed will hold rates this month and potentially in September after the release of U.S. jobless data that showed employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of June. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

The June jobs report served as a reality check for the economy and challenged the narrative that the Fed may hike rates in the second half of this year.

Markets also cheered signs of improved shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz and progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks to end the Middle East unrest.

The Australian stock market is trading sharply higher on Friday, extending the slight gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,800 level, with gains in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset weakness in iron ore miner stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 108.00 points or 1.24 percent to 8,832.50, after touching a high of 8,838.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 105.60 points or 1.18 percent to 9,036.50. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Fortescue is declining more than 2 percent, while Mineral Resources and BHP Group are edging up 0.2 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Santos is edging up 0.1 percent. Beach energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent and Xero is edging up 0.3 percent, while Zip is edging down 0.2 percent and Appen is losing more than 1 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent. Westpac is edging down 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is surging almost 7 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 4 percent, Newmont is advancing almost 4 percent and Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent. Genesis Minerals is soaring more than 10 percent after it met FY26 production guidance and advanced growth projects.

In other news, shares in Boss Energy are surging more than 6 percent after the company announced that it has achieved its revised full year FY 2026 uranium production guidance.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia moved into expansion territory in June, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 50.5. That's up from 48.7 in May and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index improved to 50.4 in June from 48.7 in May.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.694 on Friday.

The Japanese market is trading significantly lower on Friday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 68,050 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and technology stocks partially offset gains in automakers stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 69,243.68, up 510.53 points or 0.74 percent, after hitting a low of 67,609.49 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining more than 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are declining almost 4 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.5 percent, while Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.2 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is flat.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is losing more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 1 percent, while Canon is gaining more than 1 percent and Sony is advancing more than 3 percent. Among other major losers, Ibiden is tumbling more than 8 percent, while Taiyo Yuden and Sumco are sliding almost 8 percent each. Resonac Holdings and Renesas Electronics are slipping almost 7 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing and Lasertec are declining more than 5 percent each. Fujikura is down almost 5 percent, while Ebara, Disco, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Mitsui Kinzoku are losing more than 4 percent each. NGK is down almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Sumitomo Chemical are jumping more than 6 percent each, while Aeon is surging almost 6 percent. Dentsu Group and Shionogi & Co. are advancing almost 5 percent each, while Takeda Pharmaceutical and Sumitomo Pharma are gaining more than 4 percent each. Ryohin Keikaku, SHIFT, CyberAgent, West Japan Railway, East Japan Railway, Mitsubishi Estate and BayCurrent are adding almost 4 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 161 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Indonesia are surging 2.6 and 2.5 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 1.2 percent. Taiwan is bucking the trend and is down 0.4 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday after opening higher but retreating following the release of U.S. jobless data that showed employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of June.

The Dow jumped 594.83 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 52,900.07, while the NASDAQ tumbled 207.36 points or 0.80 percent to end at 25,832.67 and the S&P 500 perked 0.01 point or 0.00 percent to close at 7,483.24.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The UK's FTSE 100 jumped 1.67 percent, Germany's DAX closed higher by 2.16 percent, hitting a new record high, and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.65 percent.

Crude oil prices inched higher on Thursday after the U.S. and Iran expressed contradictory remarks over the management of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.05 or 0.07 percent at $68.63 per barrel.