Asian Markets Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Wednesday's hawkish Federal Reserve minutes. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to just above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 110.20 points or 1.54 percent to 7,053.20, after hitting a low of 7,023.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 111.90 points or 1.52 percent to 7,253.10. Australian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is losing almost 3 percent, while Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are down almost 2 percent each. Oil stocks are weak. Santos and Woodside Energy are losing more than 2 percent each, while Beach energy is down more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is plunging almost 5 percent, Xero is losing almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is down 2.5 percent and Appen is declining more than 2 percent, while Zip is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are declining almost 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are losing more than 1 percent each.

Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources is losing 3.5 percent, Resolute Mining is plunging almost 6 percent and Gold Road Resources is declining almost 3 percent, while Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are down more than 2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.663 on Friday. The Japanese stock market is notably lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling to near the 32,600 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by exporters and financial stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,618.88, down 154.14 points or 0.47 percent, after hitting a low of 32,327.90 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.5 percent. Screen Holdings is flat.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down almost 1 percent.

Among major exporters, Panasonic is declining more than 2 percent and Sony is edging down 0.3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are losing almost 1 percent each.

Among other major losers, Eisai is plunging almost 7 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Hong Kong are down 1.4 and 1.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. On Wall Street, stocks saw significant weakness during trading on Thursday, extending the pullback seen during Wednesday's session. The major averages regained some ground after an early sell-off but remained notably lower.

After tumbling by more than 500 points in morning trading, the Dow ended the day down 366.38 points or 1.1 percent at 33,922.26. The Nasdaq slumped 112.61 points or 0.8 percent to 13,679.04 and the S&P 500 slid 35.23 points or 0.8 percent to 4,11.59.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index plunged 3.1 percent, the German DAX Index dove by 2.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 2.2 percent.

Crude oil futures settled roughly flat on Thursday with traders weighing the impact of higher interest rates on growth and energy demand against data showing a drop in crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled at $71.80 a barrel, up a penny from the previous close.