Asian Markets Trading Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders remaining cautious as lingering concerns about the recent turmoil in the banking sector continue to hang over the markets. Concerns that interest rate hikes by several central banks could slow down economic growth is also weighing on the markets. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

Following the US Fed's interest rate move on Wednesday, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England raised their respective interest rates on Thursday to fight inflation.

The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 6,900 level, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged by weakness in financial, technology and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 20.10 points or 0.29 percent to 6,948.50, after hitting a low of 6,923.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.40 points or 0.24 percent to 7,131.20. Australian markets ended significantly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding 1.5 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy, Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is losing almost 1 percent, Xero is declining more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent, while Zip is gaining more than 3 percent. Afterpay owner Block is plummeting almost 18 percent after being accused of fraud by a short-selling company Hindenburg. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.5 percent and National Australia Bank is declining almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.4 percent, Newcrest Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Evolution Mining is up more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 3 percent. Gold Road Resources is flat.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia slipped into contraction territory in March, the preliminary survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.7. That's down from 50.5 in February, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite PMI fell from 50.7 to 48.2 and the composite index sank from 50.6 to 48.1.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Friday.

The Japanese stock market is notably lower in choppy trading on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling to just a tad above the 27,300 level, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders remaining cautious amid the ongoing turmoil in the banking sector. Meanwhile, Japan's annual inflation rate retreated sharply from 41-year highs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,348.72, down 70.69 points or 0.26 percent, after hitting a low of 27,257.44 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing more than 3 percent. In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing more than 1 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down almost 1 percent.

Among major exporters, Canon, Sony, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are all edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each. Among the other major losers, Resona Holdings and Dowa Holdings are losing almost 4 percent each, while Terumo is down more than 3 percent. J. Front Retailing is declining almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Sumco is losing almost 3 percent.

In economic news, Overall consumer prices in Japan were up 3.3 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was slightly lower than forecasts for 3.6 percent and down from 4.3 percent in January.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices were down 0.6 percent versus expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food costs, was up 3.1 percent on year - matching forecasts and down from 4.2 percent a month earlier.

The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in March, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.6. That's up from 47.7 in February, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI improved from 54.0 in February to 54.2 in March.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 130 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. Indonesia is up 0.8 percent. Singapore and Taiwan are relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher in early trading on Thursday but gave back ground over the course of the trading session. The major averages pulled back well off their best levels but recovered going into the close to end the day in positive territory.

The major averages all closed higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain. While the Nasdaq jumped 117.44 points or 1.0 percent to 11,787.40, the S&P 500 rose 11.75 points or 0.3 percent to 3,948.72 and the Dow edged up 76.14 points or 0.2 percent to 32,105.25.

The major European markets finished the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday on concerns the interest rate hikes by several central banks could slow down economic growth and impact the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.94 or 1.3 percent at $69.96 a barrel.