Asian Markets Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed closing on Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, after the latest batch of economic data from the U.S., Europe and Asia raised worries about a global economic slowdown. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

"The Fed is surely encouraged by recent inflation data but needs to see a further slowdown in the labor market and wage growth to be persuaded that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

Extending the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is slightly lower on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,100 level, dragged by losses in energy stocks nearly offset by gains in mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 9.10 points or 0.13 percent to 7,049.30, after hitting a low of 7,036.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 9.30 points or 0.13 percent to 7,260.20. Australian markets ended notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is losing almost 1 percent, Woodside Energy is declining more than 2 percent and Beach energy is down more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, Appen and Xero are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent and Zip is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 3 percent, Evolution Mining is surging more than 5 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing more than 4 percent and Newmont is up 1.5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.646 on Friday.

After the losses in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is relatively flat on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is staying above the 33,400 level, with most sectors showing a mixed trend amid the lack of any major cues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 33,422.93, down 1.48 points or 0.00 percent, after touching a high of 33,529.82 and low of 33,263.67 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.2 percent and Toyota is declining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is declining 2.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among major exporters, Sony is down almost 2 percent and Canon is edging down 0.1 percent, while Panasonic is edging up 0.1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Hitachi is gaining more than 3 percent, while Japan Post Holdings, Hoya and Sapporo Holdings are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Asahi Group is losing more than 4 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 150 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.8, while New Zealand, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Taiwan is bucking the trend and is up 0.4 percent. On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions. The major averages spent most of the session modestly below the unchanged line but ended the day narrowly mixed.

The Dow closed down 45.74 points or 0.1 percent at 34,945.47, while the Nasdaq crept up 9.84 points or 0.1 percent to 14,113.67 and the S&P 500 inched up 5.36 points or 0.1 percent to a more than two-month closing high of 4,508.24.

The major European markets also ended mixed on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.0 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the downtrend and edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday on fears of a likely drop in energy demand after soft data from the U.S., Europe and Asia raised worries about an economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December tumbled $3.76 or 4.9 percent at $72.90 a barrel.