Asian stock markets presented a mixed performance on Friday, reflecting the varied signals from European markets and the absence of direction from Wall Street due to its closure. Traders remain vigilant as they await the release of the critically anticipated U.S. monthly jobs report, which is expected to offer further insights into labor market conditions and possible interest rate adjustments. On Thursday, most Asian markets closed in the red.
Concerns linger over the potential for tariff impositions by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, coupled with ongoing inflationary pressures, which have dampened the markets' upward trajectory.
In Australia, the stock market experienced notable declines on Friday, continuing the downward trend from the previous session. This was despite mixed cues from European markets and the lack of guidance from the U.S. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dipped below the 8,300 threshold, weighed down by weakness in financial, energy, and technology stocks, which was somewhat counterbalanced by gains in mining stocks, buoyed by rising metal prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 50.40 points, or 0.61%, settling at 8,278.80, after reaching an intraday low of 8,262.20. The broader All Ordinaries Index decreased by 48.80 points, or 0.57%, to 8,529.00. On Thursday, Australian stocks closed slightly lower.
Among major mining entities, BHP Group advanced by nearly 1%, and Rio Tinto saw a rise of almost 2%. In contrast, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals experienced minor declines between 0.3% and 0.5%.
Oil sector stocks showed weakness, with Woodside Energy, Origin Energy, and Santos experiencing slight dips between 0.1% and 0.3%. Beach Energy remained flat.
Technology stocks showed mixed performance, with Afterpay owner Block falling over 1%, WiseTech Global losing nearly 1%, and Appen declining by almost 1%. Xero decreased by 0.5%, while Zip edged up slightly by 0.3%.
In the banking sector, the 'big four' banks faced losses; Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank both dropped nearly 2%, Westpac declined over 2%, and ANZ Banking fell by nearly 1%. Conversely, gold mining stocks were mostly positive; Evolution Mining gained nearly 1%, Newmont added over 1%, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources inched up by 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. Gold Road Resources ticked down by 0.2%.
On the currency front, the Australian dollar traded at $0.620 on Friday.
Continuing the trend of the past few sessions, the Japanese market also saw declines on Friday, impacted by mixed signals from Europe and the Wall Street closure. The Nikkei 225 slid significantly below the 39,300 mark, with most sectors, especially index-heavyweights and financial stocks, facing downward pressure. Technology stocks stood out as the sole area of strength.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped by 193.33 points, or 0.49%, to 39,411.76, after dipping to a low of 39,166.05 earlier. Japanese shares ended Thursday significantly down.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group fell nearly 1%, and Fast Retailing, operator of Uniqlo, dropped almost 7%, attributed to weaker-than-anticipated results in China. In the automotive sector, Toyota slipped by 0.3% and Honda by nearly 1%.
Technology shares were a bright spot; Advantest surged over 5%, Screen Holdings climbed more than 1%, and Tokyo Electron rose by almost 2%.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial declined more than 1%, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropping almost 1%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial decreasing by nearly 2%.
Among major exporters, Panasonic dipped by 0.5%, while Canon and Sony fell by nearly 1% each. Mitsubishi Electric slightly increased by 0.1%.
Significant declines were observed in Mitsui Mining & Smelting, down more than 6%, while Chugai Pharmaceutical and T&D Holdings lost almost 3% each.
Conversely, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Furukawa Electric both gained nearly 5%, while Japan Steel Works climbed over 4%. Fujikura and Shionogi & Co. advanced more than 3% each, with Ebara rising nearly 3%.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading within the lower end of the 158 yen range on Friday.
Across other Asian markets, Singapore declined by 1.6%, while New Zealand and Taiwan fell by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia posted gains between 0.1% and 0.5%. Both China and South Korea remained relatively stable.
In the U.S., markets were closed on Thursday to honor former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 in December.
Meanwhile, European markets closed with mixed results. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.8%, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.5%, whereas the German DAX Index slightly decreased by 0.1%.
Oil prices rose on Thursday, driven by optimism regarding global oil demand and potential supply shortages due to sanctions on Iranian and Russian crude exports. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February concluded higher, rising by $0.60, or 0.82%, to $73.92 per barrel.
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