CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, as traders react to a raft of economic data from Japan, including GDP data. They also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly US jobs report on Friday. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
The jobs report could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the US Fed's monetary policy meeting next week. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking to the jobs data to provide further evidence the central bank could cut rates as soon as March 2024.
Recouping the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is slightly higher on Friday after treading in the red most of the morning session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,200 level, pulled down by losses in financial stocks nearly offset by some gains in mining, energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 9.00 points or 0.13 percent to 7,182.30, after hitting a low of 7,143.30 and a high of 7,183.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 8.80 points or 0.12 percent to 7,393.50. Australian markets ended slightly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining almost 1 percent each, while BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy is losing 1.5 percent and Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent, while Beach energy is gaining 1.5 percent and Santos is surging more than 6 percent after confirming it was in talks with larger rival Woodside Energy for a potential $80 billion merger.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.3 percent and WiseTech Global is losing 1.5 percent, while Appen is soaring almost 14 percent, Xero is gaining more than 1 percent and Zip is adding almost 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.3 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is losing almost 2 percent, Evolution Mining is down more than 1 percent and Newmont is declining more than 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.3 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.661 on Friday.
Adding to the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese stock market is sharply lower for a third straight session on Friday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling a tad below the 32,300 level, with traders reacting to a raft of domestic economic data, including third quarter GDP that shrank.
The expectations that Bank of Japan will exit from decades of ultra-loose policies in 2024 also weighed on the market. Comments from Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda suggested the central bank will end its negative interest-rate policy soon.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,305.33, down 552.98 points or 1.68 percent, after hitting a low of 32,287.05 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 2 percent and Toyota is declining almost 5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.5 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is up almost 1 percent.
Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are losing almost 2 percent each, while Sony is down more than 1 percent and Panasonic is declining almost 1 percent.
Among other major losers, JTEKT, Subaru and Toyota Tsusho are gaining more than 5 percent each, while Alps Alpine and Ricoh are adding almost 4 percent each. Toppan Holdings, Amada, Mitsubishi Motors, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Konica Minolta and Denso are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Mazda Motor, Yokohama Rubber and Hitachi Construction Machinery are up almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, Nichirei is surging almost 7 percent and LY Corp. is gaining almost 5 percent, while Resona Holdings and Tobu Railway are adding more than 3 percent each. Fukuoka Financial is up almost 3 percent.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was down 2.5 percent on year in October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday, coming in at 301,974 yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 3.0 percent following the 2.8 percent drop in September. On a monthly basis, household spending eased 0.1 percent, again beating forecasts for -0.2 percent after adding 0.3 percent in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 559,898 yen, down an annual 5.2 percent.
The Cabinet Office said Japan's gross domestic product contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2023. That missed expectations for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 1.2 percent expansion in the previous three months. On an annualized basis, GDP dropped 2.9 percent - again missing forecasts for a decline of 2.1 percent following the 4.8 percent gain in the three months prior.
The Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.583 trillion yen in October, down from 2.724 trillion in September. Exports were up 1.0 percent on year at 9.107 trillion yen, while imports sank an annual 12.1 percent to 9.579 trillion yen for a trade deficit of 472.8 million yen. The capital account showed a deficit of 18.2 million yen, while the financial account had a surplus of 1.765 trillion yen.
The Bank of Japan said the value of overall bank lending in Japan up 2.8 percent on year in November, coming in at 609.202 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations following the downwardly revised 2.7 percent increase in October (originally 2.8 percent).
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 143 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. New Zealand and Hong Kong are down 0.4 and 0.3 percent each. China and Malaysia are relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks continued to turn in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday after moving mostly higher early in the session. The major averages moved back to the upside following the downturn seen on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the rebound.
The Nasdaq jumped 193.28 points or 1.4 percent to 14,339.99, reaching its best closing level in over four months. The S&P 500 also advanced 36.25 points or 0.8 percent to 4,585.59, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, edging up 62.95 points or 0.2 percent to 36,117.38.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed more modest moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures settled slightly lower Thursday amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to global economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down $0.04 at $69.34 a barrel.
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