Asian stock markets traded mostly lower on Friday, following mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. This decline is due to waning expectations of multiple interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, as central bank officials predicted only a single rate cut for the year in their post-meeting comments. They noted that although inflation has eased significantly in recent months, it remains uncomfortably high. Notably, Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday.
Reversing the previous session’s gains, the Australian stock market dipped slightly on Friday, reflecting the mixed cues from Wall Street. Despite this, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index remained above the 7,700 mark, with broad sectoral weaknesses led by gold miners and technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 23.70 points or 0.31 percent to 7,726.00, after touching a low of 7,718.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index also declined by 25.30 points or 0.32 percent to 7,977.20. On Thursday, the Australian markets had ended modestly higher.
Major miners such as BHP Group and Rio Tinto saw slight declines of 0.1 to 0.3 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources dropped nearly 1 percent each. Oil stocks were mostly down, with Santos declining by 0.1 percent and both Beach Energy and Woodside Energy falling by almost 1 percent. Conversely, Origin Energy gained nearly 1 percent.
In the technology sector, the parent company of Afterpay, Block, along with Appen, plummeted over 4 percent each, while Xero edged down by 0.4 percent and WiseTech Global lost more than 1 percent. However, Zip rose by almost 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac edged lower by 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking remained flat. Gold miners also faced declines, with Evolution Mining falling nearly 3 percent, Northern Star Resources dropping almost 2 percent, and Resolute Mining plunging nearly 5 percent. Newmont and Gold Road Resources were down by almost 1 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar was trading at $0.664 on Friday.
Extending losses from the previous two sessions, the Japanese stock market experienced a slight decline on Friday, influenced by mixed cues from Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell marginally, remaining just above the 38,700 level, amid general sectoral weakness as traders awaited the Bank of Japan's latest monetary policy decision.
The Nikkei 225 Index concluded the morning session at 38,709.02, down 11.45 points or 0.03 percent, after hitting a low of 38,554.75 earlier. Japanese stocks had closed modestly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group gained almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing lost more than 1 percent. Among automakers, both Honda and Toyota saw declines of almost 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest lost nearly 1 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron edged down by 0.3 percent each.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial edged down by 0.1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose more than 2 percent and Mizuho Financial edged up by 0.5 percent.
Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric gained almost 2 percent, Canon edged up by 0.5 percent, while Panasonic lost nearly 1 percent and Sony declined by over 1 percent.
Significant losers included Sumco, which fell nearly 3 percent. Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nidec, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines each gained over 3 percent, while Taiheiyo Cement, Nippon Yusen K.K., and NEXON added nearly 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the US dollar was trading in the lower 157 yen range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia traded lower by 0.1 to 0.8 percent each, while Taiwan and Indonesia remained relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks displayed a lackluster performance on Thursday as traders paused following the prior session’s rally. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new record closing highs. The Nasdaq climbed 59.12 points or 0.3 percent to 17,667.56, and the S&P 500 rose 12.71 points or 0.2 percent to 5,433.74. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, slipping 65.11 points or 0.2 percent to 38,647.10.
Major European markets all moved downward, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index sliding by 0.6 percent, and the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index each plunging by 2.0 percent.
Crude oil prices settled higher on Thursday, driven by expectations of increased demand and tighter supply conditions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose by $0.12, ending at $78.62 a barrel.
