Asian Markets Mixed Amid Tariff Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as uncertainty over US reciprocal tariffs still lingers with less than a day remaining for the crucial deadline for negotiations to reach a trade deal expires. US President Donald Trump's revised tariffs on several countries lacking deals are set to be fixed between 10 and 41 percent, raising fears of supply chain disruptions and slower global growth. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

Among major US trading partners, the UK, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the EU, and South Korea have reached either a tariff framework agreement or a final deal with the US.

However, India, Canada, Brazil, Iraq, and Mexico are scrambling to find a common path to settle on a trade deal with the US, after months of negotiations not producing significant results.

The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,700 level, with weakness across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 71.10 points or 0.80 percent to 8,672.70, after hitting a low of 8,650.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 70.00 points or 0.78 percent to 8,920.00. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto Fortescue are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging up 0.1 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent, while Beach energy is losing almost 2 percent and Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is down almost 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are declining more than 1 percent each. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.3 percent.

In other news, shares in 4DMedical are skyrocketing almost 21 percent after the respiratory imaging technology company revealed a significant investment from health imaging giant Pro Medicus Ltd.

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

Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese market is modestly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 40,900 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporters and automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,914.66, down 155.16 points or 0.38 percent, after hitting a low of 40,588.17 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is declining almost 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is plummeting more than 18 percent after cutting its full-year profit outlook amid sluggish demand from logic chipmakers.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.2 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony is edging up 0.1 percent, Canon is gaining almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is surging almost 5 percent and Panasonic is adding 1.5 percent.

Among other major losers, Socionext is plunging more than 12 percent, Hitachi is tumbling almost 9 percent, Lasertec is declining almost 6 percent and Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 4 percent, while Sumco and Toto are down more than 3 percent each. Disco is slipping almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Fuji Electric is jumping more than 12 percent, Konami Group is soaring more than 8 percent, NGK Insulators is surging almost 8 percent, Konica Minolta is rising more than 7 percent, Tokyo Gas is gaining more than 5 percent and Japan Tobacco is adding almost 5 percent, while Toyota Tsusho and Otsuka Holdings are up almost 4 percent each. Nissan Motor and Tokyo Electric Power are rising more than 3 percent each, while Mitsui Fudosan, Fanuc and Mitsubishi Motors are up almost 3 percent each.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 3.0 percent, while New Zealand and Taiwan are down 0.5 and 0.4 percent, respectively. China,Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 1.0 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The major averages pulled back well off their best levels of the day and into negative territory.

The major averages finished the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq edged down 7.23 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,122.45, the S&P 500 fell 23.51 points or 0.4 percent to 6,339.39 and the Dow slid 330.30 points or 0.7 percent to 44,140.98.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Thursday due to concerns of slowing energy demand amid a high-tariff global economy along with the August 1 deadline set by the US President for countries to strike a trade deal with the US about to expire in hours. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was last seen trading, down by $0.71 or 1.01 percent to $69.29 per barrel.