Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the lack of cues from Wall Street and despite the positive cues from European markets overnight, as traders react to a slew of economic data from Japan and manufacturing data from South Korea. The developments in the Middle East are also hurting market sentiment. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Friday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the lack of cues from Wall Street and despite the positive cues from European markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,400 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 22.70 points or 0.27 percent to 8,421.60, after hitting a low of 8,390.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 18.80 points or 0.22 percent to 8,681.20. Australian markets ended notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is declining 1.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while is advancing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy, Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.1 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining more than 1 percent, while Appen is edging down 0.4 percent and Xero is losing more than 1 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.4 percent and ANZ Banking is down more than 1 percent. Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.3 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Friday.

Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is notably lower on Friday, following the lack of cues from Wall Street and despite the positive cues from European markets overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling below the 38,200 level, with weakness in automakers, exporters and technology stocks partially offset gains in financial stocks.

Traders reacted to a slew of domestic economic data, including data showing Tokyo's inflation accelerated above 2 percent in November. The data on retail sales, employment and industrial production also pointed to signs of slowing economic activity.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,193.01, down 156.05 points or 0.41 percent, after hitting a low of 37,986.97 earlier. Japanese stocks closed notably higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is declining more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent, Screen Holdings is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is slipping almost 2 percent.

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

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

Among other major losers, Nissan Motor is losing more than 3 percent, while DeNA, Sumco, Disco, Isuzu Motors, OKUMA and Nissan Motor are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Furukawa Electric is gaining more than 3 percent.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 1.8 percent, while Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. New Zealand and China are up 0.3 and 0.2 percent, respectively. Taiwan is relatively flat.

The Wall Street was closed on account of Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The shares closed notably higher on Wednesday.

The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.08 percent, Germany's DAX climbed 0.85 percent and France's CAC 40 closed up 0.51 percent.