Asian Markets Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are mostly in the red on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders look to book some profits to take advantage of the recent strength in the markets. Traders also reacted to data showing a slightly bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices that raised concerns about interest rates. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Snapping a six-session winning streak, the Australian stock market is modestly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,100 level, dragged by losses in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 24.60 points or 0.35 percent to 7,066.40, after hitting a low of 7,016.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 26.70 points or 0.37 percent to 7,260.70. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is down almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging down 0.5 percent each. Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are losing almost 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources and Newcrest Mining are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Resolute Mining is adding almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.632 on Friday.

Weakness in the technology and financial sector is dragging the Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling to nearly the 32,400 level, giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,356.76, down 137.90 points or 0.42 percent, after hitting a low of 32,313.80 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is surging almost 6 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing 1.5 percent and Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, Screen Holdings is adding more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is down more than 1 percent.

Among major exporters, Canon is edging down 0.5 percent, Sony is losing more than 1 percent and Panasonic is declining almost 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Seven & I Holdings is losing almost 5 percent, Rakuten Group is declining almost 4 percent and NTT Data is down more than 3 percent, while JTEKT, Recruit Holdings and Nintendo are slipping almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 149 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.5 percent, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.4 percent. Malaysia is relatively flat. On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the session before coming under pressure in the early afternoon.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow fell 173.73 points or 0.5 percent to 33,631.14, the Nasdaq slid 85.46 points or 0.6 percent to 13,574.22 and the S&P 500 declined 27.34 points or 0.6 percent to 4,349.61.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index slipped by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday, falling for a third straight session, after data showed a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended October 6th. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $0.58 or about 0.7 percent at $82.91 a barrel.