Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the positive cues from Wall Street overnight, on hopes some major central banks, including the US Fed will lower interest rates in the first quarter after US President Donald Trump said he will "demand that interest rates drop immediately" in the US to stimulate domestic growth. Uncertainty about Trump's trade policies and tariff threats limited the upside. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump also reaffirmed his earlier promises of tax cuts, tariffs on trading partners, and increased energy production.

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Friday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,400 level, with gains in financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 33.90 points or 0.41 percent to 8,412.60, after touching a high of 8,421.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 35.40 points or 0.41 percent to 8,664.50. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.2 percent, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.4 percent, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is down more than 1 percent. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining more than 2 percent and Xero is edging up 0.5 percent, while Zip is losing almost 1 percent. Afterpay-owner Block and WiseTech Global are flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is declining more than 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.2 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Newmont is edging up 0.4 percent.

In other news, shares in Kogan.com are tumbling more than 12 percent after the online retailer posted strong results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, but was short of market expectations.

Shares in 4DMedical jumped more than 7 percent after the company struck a deal with Queensland-based Qscan Radiology Clinics to supply proprietary pulmonary function and pulmonary structure products.

Shares in Synlait Milk are skyrocketing more than 25 percent after the dairy processor boosted its guidance for the first-half and said the company would "return to profitability" this year.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in January, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.8. That's up from 47.8 in December, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Also, the services PMI slipped to 50.4 from 50.8 in December, while the composite PMI rose to a five-month high of 50.3 from 50.2 in the previous month.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.631 on Friday.

Adding to the gains in the previous four sessions, the Japanese market is notably higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving up to near the 40,200 level, as traders remain cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,192.85, up 233.98 points or 0.59 percent, after touching a high of 40,254.64 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent and Honda is flat.

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

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 2 percent and Panasonic is edging down 0.5 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Sumitomo Pharma is soaring almost 7 percent, while Sapporo Holdings and DeNA are surging almost 6 percent each. Kanadevia and Mitsui Fudosan are gaining more than 4 percent each, while Oriental Land is adding almost 4 percent. Tokyo Electric Power and JGC Holdings are advancing more than 3 percent each. Sumitomo Realty & Development, Sumitomo Chemical, Yokogawa Electric, Mitsubishi Estate and Toho are all up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Disco is plunging almost 8 percent, Mitsubishi Motors is losing almost 5 percent and Nidec is declining more than 4 percent.

In economic news, Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, increased by 3 percent on year in December 2024, marking the highest level since August 2023. The figure also accelerated from a 2.7 percent rise in November and matched market expectations.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in January, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.8. That's down from 49.6 in December and it moved further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI improved to 52.7 in January from 50.9 in December.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent. Hong Kong is up 1.8 percent, while China and South Korea are up 0.3 and 0.8 percent, respectively. Taiwan remains closed for the long Lunar New Year break.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions. The S&P 500 closed higher for the seventh time in the past eight sessions, reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages reached new highs going into the close of trading. The Dow jumped 408.34 points or 0.9 percent to 44,565.07, the S&P 500 climbed 32.34 points or 0.5 percent to 6,118.71 and the Nasdaq rose 44.34 points or 0.2 percent at 20,051.68.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Thursday after data showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell less than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March closed down $0.82 or about 1.1 percent at $74.62 a barrel.