Asian stock markets are mostly trading lower on Friday, influenced by the broadly negative signals from global markets overnight. Traders appear to be reassessing the near-term market outlook and taking profits following recent gains in a rally. Most Asian markets closed higher on Thursday.
In Australia, the stock market is notably down, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index losing 45.20 points or 0.57 percent to 7,836.10. The All Ordinaries Index is down 44.20 points or 0.54 percent at 8,105.90. Losses are led by gold miners and technology stocks, although iron ore miners are up amid firmer iron ore prices.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining over 1 percent each. Fortescue Metals is slightly up by 0.5 percent, and Mineral Resources is adding nearly 1 percent. However, oil stocks are mostly lower, with Beach Energy down nearly 1 percent. Santos, Woodside Energy, and Origin Energy are down between 0.1 and 0.4 percent.
Tech stocks are also facing losses. Block (Afterpay’s owner) and WiseTech Global are down almost 1 percent each, while Xero and Appen are declining by 1.5 percent each. The big four banks—Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac, and National Australia Bank—are each down nearly 1 percent. Gold miners, such as Evolution Mining, Gold Road Resources, and Northern Star Resources, are losing almost 1 percent, while Newmont is down over 1 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping nearly 2 percent.
The Aussie dollar is trading at $0.666.
In Japan, the stock market is notably lower, snapping a five-session winning streak. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index dropped to 38,782.08, down 138.18 points or 0.36 percent. Japanese markets had closed sharply higher on Thursday. Leading the decline are index heavyweights and technology stocks, although financial stocks posted gains.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo operator) are both down nearly 1 percent. In the automotive sector, Honda is marginally up by 0.1 percent and Toyota is gaining over 1 percent.
Technology stocks show mixed performance: Advantest is slightly down by 0.1 percent, Tokyo Electron declining more than 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is up 0.3 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up over 3 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent, and Mizuho Financial is nearing a 1 percent gain.
Major exporters like Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are each up 0.5 percent, whereas Canon and Sony are slightly down between 0.1 and 0.3 percent. Among other major movements, Sumitomo Pharma and CyberAgent are down over 4 percent each, while Dentsu Group and Terumo are declining by more than 3 percent each. Conversely, Japan Steel Works is gaining over 5 percent and Renesas Electronics is up nearly 3 percent.
The U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen range.
In other Asian markets, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan are higher by 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, whereas New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea are lower by 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks saw early gains on Thursday but fluctuated and closed modestly lower. The Dow crossed 40,000 for the first time in morning trading but ended down 38.62 points or 0.1 percent at 39,869.38. The S&P 500 dipped 11.05 points or 0.2 percent to 5,297.10, and the Nasdaq fell 44.07 points or 0.3 percent to 16,698.32.
European markets also moved downward. The UK's FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose on Thursday, benefiting from data showing a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories and hopes of an interest rate cut in September. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for June ended higher by $0.60 at $79.23 a barrel.