HL: Asian Markets Mostly Higher; Japan Awaits BOJ Rate Decision
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday, tracking the positive lead overnight from Wall Street. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is edging lower amid cautious trades, ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision later in the day.
The Australian market is up with modest gains following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Mining and energy stocks are leading the gainers.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is adding 24.60 points or 0.43 percent to 5,686.90, off a high of 5,692.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 23.40 points or 0.41 percent to 5,687.00.
Mining stocks are advancing, following news that the Australian government has abandoned the idea of an iron ore inquiry. BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto are advancing more than 1 percent each, while BHP Billiton’s spin-off South32 is up 0.4 percent and Fortescue Metals is higher by almost 1 percent.
Meanwhile, junior miner BC Iron is losing more than 3 percent and Mount Gibson is down more than 1 percent after iron ore prices fell for the eight straight session overnight on soft Chinese economic data.
Shares of copper and gold miner PanAust are up 0.3 percent ahead of the company’s annual general meeting in Brisbane later in the day.
Gold miners Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are adding more than 3 percent each, despite lower gold prices overnight.
In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum and Santos are adding more than 2 percent each, while Oil Search is gaining almost 3 percent as crude oil prices rose overnight.
The Big Four banks are mostly trading weak. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank, and National Australia Bank are lower by 0.02 percent to 0.06 percent. Westpac (WBK) is adding 0.03 percent.
Luxury fashion retailer OrotonGroup has scrapped its forecast for earnings growth in the second half of the year, saying that its decision to end heavy discounting cost more than expected. Shares of the company are down more than 16 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7898, down from US$0.7900 on Thursday.
The Japanese market edged lower amid cautious trades, as investors await the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision later in the day.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 26.40 points or 0.13 percent to 20,176.47, off a low of 20,160.83 earlier. On Thursday, the Nikkei average closed higher, extending gains for a fifth straight day.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is losing 0.8 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Finanical are down 0.4 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Sony Corp. (SNE) is down more than 1 percent, Canon is declining more than 2 percent, Nikon is down 0.3 percent and Panasonic is edging lower by 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Fanuc is declining 0.5 percent, while Sharp is adding 0.6 percent and Casio Computer is up 0.2 percent.
Shares of Nintendo are lower by more than 2 percent amid news that a U.S. asset management company, Capital Research and Management, has effectively become the largest shareholder in the Japanese video game company.
Auto stocks are weak. Toyota (TM) is losing 0.7 percent, Nissan is down 0.8 percent and Honda (HMC) is down almost 1 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of Takata Corp. are up almost 3 percent, rebounding from the heavy losses in the previous two sessions.
Among the market heavyweights, mobile carrier Softbank is rising 2 percent, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores, is lower by 0.3 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum Exploration is gaining almost 2 percent and Inpex is rising more than 3 percent following the increase in crude oil prices overnight.
Japanese trading house Itochu Corp is rising more than 3 percent as the company has promised to pay record dividends for each of the next three years.
Among the other major losers, Konica Minolta is down almost 2 percent, Yahoo Japan is declining 1.8 percent and Kikkoman Corp is lower by 1.6 percent.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Friday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 0.1 percent, although the bank may decide to introduce some form of additional stimulus.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 121 yen range on Friday, up slightly from Thursday’s close.
Among the other markets in the Asian region, Shanghai and Hong Kong are higher by more than 1 percent each, while New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are also in positive territory. Indonesia and Malaysia are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly on Thursday, although buying interest was somewhat subdued. The strength on Wall Street came in reaction to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, even though the reports painted a mixed picture.
While the Dow inched up only 0.34 points to 18.285.74, the Nasdaq climbed 19.05 points or 0.4 percent to 5,090.79, and the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points or 0.2 percent to 2,130.82.
The major European markets all ended modestly higher on Thursday. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.
U.S. crude oil ended sharply higher for a second straight session on Thursday, as the dollar weakened against a select band of currencies amid signs the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates at zero for the time being.
Crude oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, surged $1.74 or 3 percent, to settle at $60.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.
