Asian stock markets experienced a general decline on Friday, despite negative signals from Wall Street overnight. Investors are currently digesting a range of economic data releases from China, the world's second-largest economy, while also maintaining a cautious stance as they evaluate the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions. Notably, Asian markets had closed mostly higher on Thursday.
In Australia, the stock market displayed a slight uptick on Friday, having opened in positive territory and briefly dipped into the red. This follows modest gains from the previous session, despite the negative trends from Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 remains above the 8,300 mark, driven by increases across various sectors, notably mining and financial stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 1.70 points, or 0.02 percent, reaching 8,328.70, after hitting a high of 8,346.80 and a low of 8,314.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index also gained 5.90 points, or 0.07 percent, to 8,565.10. Australian stocks had closed slightly higher on Thursday.
Among major mining companies, BHP Group increased nearly 1 percent, Mineral Resources advanced over 2 percent, and Fortescue Metals gained almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto remained stable.
Oil stocks mostly edged higher, with Santos and Origin Energy each increasing by 0.5 percent, Beach Energy rising nearly 1 percent, and Woodside Energy inching down by 0.1 percent.
In the tech sector, Block, owner of Afterpay, and Xero rose by 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Appen surged almost 5 percent. However, Zip fell by more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global declined nearly 2 percent.
Within the "big four" banks, Commonwealth Bank dipped nearly 1 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking, and National Australia Bank declined by more than 1 percent each. Gold mining companies were mostly on the rise, with Evolution Mining gaining over 1 percent and Gold Road Resources up almost 1 percent. Newmont and Resolute Mining increased by 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Northern Star Resources edged down by 0.2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was trading at $0.621 on Friday.
After previous gains, the Japanese market encountered a sharp decline on Friday, influenced by Wall Street's negative trends. The Nikkei 225 fell, staying slightly above the 38,100 level, with general sector weakness, particularly among index heavyweights and financial stocks.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,193.05, down 379.55 points, or 0.98 percent, after reaching a low of 38,055.68 earlier. Japanese shares had closed slightly higher on Thursday.
Major players like SoftBank Group saw a drop of over 2 percent, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, fell by nearly 1 percent. In the automotive industry, Toyota and Honda both fell by over 1 percent.
Within the tech sector, Advantest decreased by more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron by nearly 1 percent, while Screen Holdings rose by almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial dropped nearly 4 percent, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial each down about 3 percent.
Among major exporters, Panasonic edged down 0.4 percent, Canon fell 1.5 percent, Sony dropped over 1 percent, and Mitsubishi Electric decreased by more than 2 percent.
Other significant decliners included Nintendo, which plunged around 7 percent, Tokyo Tatemono down nearly 6 percent, DeNA slipping almost 5 percent, and T&D Holdings down about 4 percent, with Dai-ichi Life and TDK Holdings each declining over 3 percent. Companies like Konami Group, Takashimaya, Tokio Marine, and BANDAI NAMCO were down nearly 3 percent each.
On the other hand, Hino Motors surged almost 8 percent, OKUMA gained over 5 percent, Shiseido added over 3 percent, and Omron advanced nearly 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 155 yen range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia saw declines between 0.1 and 0.3 percent, while markets in New Zealand and Singapore rose by 0.8 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Markets in Taiwan and Hong Kong remained relatively flat.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, U.S. stocks displayed a lackluster performance on Thursday, following a robust rally in the prior session. Major indices experienced fluctuations throughout the day before eventually settling in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day more firmly in the red due to a decline in Apple shares, dropping 172.94 points, or 0.9 percent, to 19,338.29. The Dow and S&P 500 saw more modest losses, with the Dow dipping 68.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 43,153.13, and the S&P 500 slipping 12.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,937.34.On the day, the primary European markets experienced notable gains. The French CAC 40 Index led the way with a 2.1 percent increase, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index rose by 1.1 percent, and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.4 percent.
On Thursday, crude oil prices saw a significant drop following the news that Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement, sanctioned by the UN Security Council. Consequently, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February decreased by $1.36, or 1.7 percent, settling at $78.68 per barrel.
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