Asian Markets Tracks Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious and are reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly US jobs data later in the day that will offer clues on the US Fed's interest rate moves. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

The jobs data could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

While traders have recently expressed greater confidence the Fed will lower rates by another 25 basis points at the December meeting, there remains uncertainty about the likelihood of continued rate cuts at future meetings.

The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, reversing to the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.30 points or 0.39 percent to 8,441.60, after hitting a low of 8,423.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.70 points or 0.41 percent to 8,708.80. Australian markets ended modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.5 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Zip is slipping almost 6 percent, Afterpay-owner Block is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is declining almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are down more than 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while Westpac is losing almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent. ANZ Banking is flat. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 3 percent and Newmont is declining more than 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Iluka Resources are tumbling almost 10 percent after the mining company announced an extra $214 million cash contribution to cover the higher costs at its domestic rare earths refinery.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Friday.

Snapping a four-session winning streak, the Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 39,100 level, with gains across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,042.59, down 353.01 points or 0.90 percent, after hitting a low of 39,006.10 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly 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 gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are losing more than 2 percent each, while Screen Holdings is declining almost 4 percent.

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

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.5 percent and Sony is losing almost 2 percent each, while Canon and Panasonic are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

Among other major losers, Japan Steel Works is declining almost 4 percent and Disco is down more than 3 percent, while Otsuka Holdings and Sumitomo Electric Industries are losing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Omron is gaining more than 3 percent, while Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors are adding almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was down 1.3 percent on year in October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 305,819 yen. That beat forecasts for an annual decline of 2.6 percent following the 1.1 percent drop in September.

On a monthly basis, household spending climbed 2.9 percent - beating forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent after slipping 1.3 percent in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 580,675 yen, up 1.1 percent on year.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each, while China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday after climbing to new record highs in the previous session. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory. The Dow slid 248.33 points or 0.6 percent to 44,765.71, while the Nasdaq dipped 34.86 points or 0.2 percent to 19,700.26 and the S&P 500 edged down 11.38 points or 0.2 percent to 6,075.11.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices dipped on Thursday, weighed by weak demand from China and rising production in the United States - although the downside was limited by OPEC's decision to delay a production increase. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January fell $0.24 or 0.4 percent at $68.30 a barrel.