Asian Markets Mixed In Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mostly positive cues from global markets overnight, as the markets continue to benefit from a positive reaction to the US Fed's interest rate announcement, with traders expressing optimism the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Traders also digested the interest rate moves by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The BoE and the ECB, both raised their interest rates by 50 basis points and signaled more hikes in the coming months.

The Federal Reserve, which raised interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, also signaled more hikes in rates to fight inflation. The central bank said although inflation has eased somewhat, it still remains elevated.

Traders are also looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later in the day.

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday after opening in the red, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,500 level, following the mostly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains is financial stocks partially offset by weakness in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 24.60 points or 0.33 percent to 7,536.20, after touching a high of 7,547.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.50 points or 0.27 percent to 7,749.50. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

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

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is gaining 1.5 percent and Santos is edging up 0.1 percent, while Origin Energy is losing almost 2 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.5 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent and Zip is down almost 1 percent, while Appen is adding almost 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.3 percent. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 2 percent, National Australia Bank is adding more than 1 percent, Westpac is advancing 1.5 percent and Commonwealth Bank is up almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources is losing 2.5 percent, Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 5 percent and Evolution Mining is declining almost 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are down almost 2 percent each.

In economic news, the total value of overall home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$23.44 billion. That missed expectations for a decline of 2.8 percent following the 3.8 percent drop in November. On a yearly basis, overall loans plunged 29.3 percent, owner-occupied home loans tumbled 29.8 percent and investment lending dropped 28.3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.705 on Friday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 moving above the 27,600 level, following the mostly positive cues from global markets overnight, lifted by exporters and financial stocks as traders continue to digest the US Fed's interest rate announcement.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,518.75, up 116.70 points or 0.43 percent, after touching a high of 27,612.57 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is flat, while Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.4 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.3 percent. In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are adding almost 1 percent each.

Among major exporters, Panasonic is losing more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 2 percent, Sony is surging almost 5 percent and Canon is adding more than 1 percent. In other news, shares in Z Holdings are soaring more than 12 percent after it announced the merger with its two wholly-owned subsidiaries Yahoo Japan and LINE in an effort to revamp operations.

Among the other major gainers, NTN is skyrocketing 13 percent and, while Taiyo Yuden, Murata Manufacturing and Hoya are gaining almost 4 percent each. NSK is gaining more than 3 percent, while Takeda Pharmaceutical, Recruit Holdings, TDK, Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo Electric Industries are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Konami Group is losing almost 5 percent and Mitsubishi Motors is declining almost 4 percent.

In economic news, the services sector in Japan continued to expand in January, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 52.3. That's up from 51.1 in December and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also said that the composite index improved to 50.7 in January from 49.7 in December.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 128 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each, while Hong Kong is slipping 2.2 percent, China is losing 1.3 percent and Taiwan is down 0.2 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, extending the rally seen late in the previous session. Tech stocks helped lead the advance, resulting in a substantial increase by the Nasdaq.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 384.50 points or 3.3 percent to a nearly five-month closing high of 12,200.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 60.55 points or 1.5 percent to 4,179.76, while the narrower Dow spent most of the day in negative territory, with the blue chip index edging down 39.02 points or 0.1 percent to 34,053.94.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's recovery and uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to concerns about a global recession also hurt. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $75.88 a barrel.