Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious ahead of the release of a raft of economic data from China, including GDP figures. A rate cut by the European Central Bank and expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Fed and the Bank of Canada are aiding market sentiment. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 71.10 points or 0.85 percent to 8,284.80, after hitting a low of 8,276.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 69.60 points or 0.81 percent to 8,554.50. Australian markets ended significantly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is declining almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is down more than 2 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent, Zip is losing more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is declining 3.5 percent and Xero is down almost 1 percent, while Appen is gaining almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent. Westpac and National Australia Bank are flat. Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining, Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is declining almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Flight Centre Travel Group plunged almost 17 percent after it provided an uncertain growth outlook saying management expects profits will again be heavily weighted to the second half.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Friday.

Recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving above the 39,000 mark, with gains in some index heavyweights and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

Traders also reacted to domestic inflation data that showed that Japan's headline and core inflation rates slowed to a five-month low in September.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,058.32, up 147.13 points or 0.38 percent, after touching a high of 39,186.64 earlier. Japanese stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.3 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are losing more than 1 percent each, while Screen Holdings is down more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are adding more than 1 percent each.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Sony is losing more than 1 percent. Panasonic is flat.

Among other major gainers, DeNA is surging more than 6 percent and Otsuka Holdings is gaining more than 4 percent, while Disco and Fuji Electric are adding more than 3 percent each. M3 is adding almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Tokyo Electric Power is declining almost 3 percent.

In economic news, overall nationwide consumer prices in Japan were up 2.5 percent on year in September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was beneath expectations for 2.7 percent and down from 3.0 percent in August. On a monthly basis, overall inflation fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.5 percent in the previous month.

National core CPI was up 2.4 percent on year, exceeding expectations for an increase of 2.3 percent but down from 2.8 percent a month earlier. Core CPI was up 0.2 percent on month, easing from 0.5 percent in August.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 149 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong are up 2.4 and 1.7 percent, respectively, while China is up 1.1 percent. New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.3 percent each. South Korea and Indonesia are down 0.3 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks saw modest strength for much of the session on Thursday before giving back ground late in the trading day to close roughly flat. The Dow still managed to reach a new record closing high.

The Dow ended the day up 161.35 points or 0.4 percent at 43,239.05, while the Nasdaq crept up 6.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,373.61 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.00 point or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,841.47.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside after the ECB lowered interest rates. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday, supported by data showing an unexpected drop in crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.28 or 0.4 percent at $70.67 a barrel.