Asian stock markets were trading predominantly higher on Friday, reacting to mixed signals from Wall Street the previous night. This followed the U.S. Federal Reserve's much-anticipated decision to reduce interest rates by a quarter point while indicating plans to continue this trend. Additionally, the Bank of England also lowered interest rates. Asian markets showed mixed results on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized in his post-meeting press conference that future rate decisions are not predetermined and will depend on ongoing evaluations "meeting by meeting" to address risks impacting both facets of the central bank's dual mandate. Powell added that decisions would be made based on data, which will influence the "pace and destination" of rate adjustments.
The Australian stock market showed significant gains on Friday, building on the positive momentum of the previous two sessions, influenced by the mixed cues from Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is nearing the 8,300 mark, with broad-based gains led by mining and technology sectors, though energy stocks remain a weak point.
Specifically, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is up by 68.40 points, or 0.83 percent, reaching 8,294.70 after an earlier peak of 8,319.40, while the All Ordinaries Index increased by 70.60 points, or 0.83 percent, to 8,552.20. Australian markets closed slightly higher on Thursday.
In the mining sector, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are both seeing increases of nearly 2 percent, while Fortescue Metals is up more than 2 percent. Conversely, Mineral Resources has dropped over 2 percent.
Oil stocks largely experienced declines, with Woodside Energy and Santos each slipping by 0.5 percent, and Beach Energy falling over 1 percent. Origin Energy, however, managed to gain nearly 1 percent.
In the technology sector, Zip surged almost 4 percent and Appen rose nearly 7 percent, with WiseTech Global and Xero both gaining around 2 percent. Meanwhile, Block, Afterpay's parent company, tumbled almost 7 percent following disappointing earnings results.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking increased by about 1 percent each, Westpac added more than 1 percent, and National Australia Bank slightly decreased by 0.3 percent. Gold mining stocks mostly saw an uptick, with Evolution Mining advancing almost 4 percent, Northern Star Resources gaining over 3 percent, Newmont rising nearly 2 percent, Resolute Mining climbing almost 1 percent, and Gold Road Resources increasing by more than 2 percent.
The Australian dollar was trading at $0.666 on Friday.
Japan's stock market also saw modest increases on Friday, rebounding from the previous day's losses and drawing from mixed cues on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index moved above the 39,500 mark, buoyed by gains in prominent stocks and exporters.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed its morning session at 39,515.36, up 133.95 points, or 0.34 percent, after reaching an earlier high of 39,818.41. Japanese stocks had posted slight losses on Thursday.
Key market player SoftBank Group gained 3.5 percent, and Fast Retailing, operator of Uniqlo, increased by more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda fell by over 2 percent, and Toyota dropped 2.5 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest saw a decline of over 1 percent, and Screen Holdings edged down 0.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron increased by more than 1 percent.
Within the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial each saw slight gains of 0.1 percent, while Mizuho Financial slipped 0.3 percent.
Major exporters like Mitsubishi Electric and Sony gained close to 1 percent each, while Canon edged up 0.1 percent. Conversely, Panasonic saw a nearly 1 percent decline.
Among the top gainers, Ajinomoto soared over 9 percent, Mitsubishi Motors rose by nearly 6 percent, and Nomura Research Institute advanced almost 5 percent. Keisei Electric Railway and NTT Data both gained more than 4 percent. Recruit Holdings, Fujitsu, and ZOZO added nearly 4 percent each, while Terumo, BANDAI NAMCO, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan Steel Works, Chugai Pharmaceutical, and Secom rose by almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Taiyo Yuden plunged almost 15 percent, Shiseido and Kanadevia both fell by more than 7 percent each, and Fujikura and Nissan Motor declined by nearly 7 percent each. UBE dropped more than 5 percent, Oji Holdings fell almost 5 percent, Mazda Motor slid over 4 percent, and Teijin tumbled more than 3 percent. JFE Holdings, Suzuki Motor, and Kao slipped by around 3 percent each.
In recent economic developments, Japan's household spending decreased by 1.1% year-over-year in September, as reported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday, totaling 287,963 yen. This decline was less severe than the anticipated 1.8% drop, following a 1.9% reduction in August. On a month-to-month comparison, spending saw a decline of 1.3%, which was less than forecasts of a 0.7% decrease, after witnessing a 2.0% rise in the prior month. Furthermore, the average monthly income per household decreased by 1.6% year-over-year, standing at 493,942 yen.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar is positioned within the lower 153 yen range as of Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets recorded gains of between 0.2% and 1.4%. Specifically, stock indices in New Zealand, China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and Taiwan experienced increases ranging from 0.2% to 1.4%, while markets in Hong Kong and Malaysia remained relatively unchanged.
On Wall Street, equities continued their upward trajectory on Thursday, adding to significant gains from earlier in the week. This momentum pushed the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record highs at the close. The technology-driven Nasdaq notably advanced by 285.99 points, or 1.5%, reaching 19,269.46, accompanied by the S&P 500, which rose by 44.06 points, or 0.7%, to 5,973.10. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near breakeven throughout the day, ultimately dipping by just 0.59 points to settle at 43,729.34.
In European markets, stocks mostly trended higher. Germany's DAX Index surged by 1.7%, while France's CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.8%. However, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index diverged from this positive path, declining by 0.3%.
In the commodities sector, crude oil prices saw a significant uptick on Thursday. Market participants assessed the possible repercussions of Donald Trump's presidency on global geopolitics alongside the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for December delivery rose by $0.67, or 0.93%, to $72.36 per barrel.
