Asian Markets Mostly Lower On Global Cues

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as traders continue to be concerned about the outlook for interest rates and the impact higher rates will have on the economy. A continued rebound by US treasury yields also weighed on the markets. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Traders are also cautiously looking ahead to the release of the US Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report later in the day, which will provide clues about the US Fed's future monetary policy moves.

Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics, said, "Any easing of labor market conditions will be welcome by the Fed but won't change the FOMC's plans to continue to raise rates in an effort to bring down inflation."

The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 6,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, dragged by weakness in financial, resources and technology stocks, partially offset by gains in energy stocks amid spiking crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 35.40 points or 0.52 percent to 6,782.10, after hitting a low of 6,762.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 38.40 points or 0.55 percent to 6,995.10. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and OZ Minerals are losing more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent, Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is edging up 0.5 percent and Santos is adding 1.5 percent.

Among tech stocks, Zip is losing 1.5 percent, while WiseTech Global, Appen and Xero are slipping more than 2 percent each. Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.4 percent. Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are all edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.4 percent and Northern Star Resources is adding more than 1 percent. Evolution Mining is down almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Friday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Friday, snapping a four-session winning streak, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling below the 27,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, dragged by weakness across most sectors, led by technology and financial stocks amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates and looming recession.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,149.76, down 161.54 points or 0.59 percent, after hitting a low of 26,921.90. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is slipping almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.3 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.3 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is slipping almost 2 percent.

Among major exporters, Canon is losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent and Panasonic is declining almost 2 percent, while Sony is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the other major losers, IHI is losing almost 4 percent and Seven & I Holdings is down more than 3 percent, while Sumitomo Osaka Cement and Sharp are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Central Japan Railway is gaining more than 2 percent.

In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up 5.1 percent on year in August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 289,974. That missed expectations for an increase of 6.7 percent following the 3.4 percent increase in July. On a monthly basis, household spending sank 1.7 percent - again shy of expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 1.4 percent contraction a month earlier. The average of monthly income per household stood at 563,963 yen, down 1.8 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. South Korea and are up 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively. China remains closed for the Golden Week holiday and will reopen on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday but largely maintained a negative bias throughout the day. The major averages added to the modest losses posted on Wednesday but remained well off last Friday's lows.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in the red. The Dow tumbled 346.93 points or 1.2 percent to 29,926.94, the Nasdaq slid 75.33 points or 0.7 percent to 11,073.31 and the S&P 500 slumped 38.76 points or 1.0 percent to 3,744.52.

The major European markets also all showed notable moves back to the downside. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both slid by 0.8 percent.

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, rising for a fourth straight session after OPEC announced on Wednesday that it would cut production by 2 million barrels per day from November, while a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.69 or 0.8 percent at $88.45 a barrel.