Asian Markets Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, on continued optimism the US Fed will leave interest rates unchanged amid data showing US consumer price growth accelerated in line with economist estimates in July. Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly US jobs report later in the day. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.

“July PCE inflation was modest for a second straight month, establishing a solid runway for the Fed to leave rates unchanged next month,” said Chris Low and Will Compernolle, FHN Financial Chief Economist and Macro Strategist.

The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, snapping a four-session winning streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,300 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by heavyweight mining stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.80 points or 0.39 percent to 7,276.50, after hitting a low of 7,268.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 30.00 points or 0.40 percent to 7,487.80. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is declining more than 5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent and Santos is gaining almost 2 percent, while Beach energy and Woodside Energy are adding almost 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are losing more than 1 percent each, while Xero is declining almost 1 percent. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.2 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are losing 1.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining more than 4 percent and Evolution Mining is slipping more than 2 percent. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in August, and at a steady pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6. That’s unchanged from the July reading and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Additionally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the total value of overall home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on month in July, coming in at A$24.19 billion. Loans for owner-occupied homes fell 1.9 percent to A$15.57 billion, while investment lending eased 0.1 percent to A$8.62 billion. On a yearly basis, owner-occupied home loans sank 17.5 percent, investment lending sank 7.2 percent and overall lending dropped 14.1 percent. Fixed term loans rose 4.7 percent on month and 9.2 percent on year to A$2.30 billion.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.647 on Friday.

The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 moving above the 32,800 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by gains in exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,820.80, up 201.46 points or 0.62 percent, after touching a high of 32,845.46 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

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

Among major exporters, Sony is gaining more than 3 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 3 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.3 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Kobe Steel is gaining more than 4 percent, while Sharp and Recruit Holdings are adding more than 3 percent each. Teijin, JTEKT and Taisei are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in August, and at a steady pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6. That’s unchanged from the July reading and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 145 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.3 and 0.6 percent each, while New Zealand is bucking the trend and is down 0.4 percent. Hong Kong trading is suspended due to super typhoon Saola.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session on Thursday after failing to sustain an early move to the upside. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending the day in negative territory.

The Dow jumped by nearly 180 points in early trading but ended the day down 168.33 points or 0.5 percent at 34,721.91. The S&P 500 also slipped 7.21 points or 0.2 percent to 4,507.66, while the Nasdaq inched up 15.66 points or 0.1 percent to 14,034.97 closing higher for the fifth straight session.

The major European markets also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Thursday, advancing for the sixth consecutive session following another steep drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery surged $2 or 2.5 percent to $83.63 a barrel, a three-week closing high.

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