CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are higher on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, amid optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could be easing and as upbeat U.S. payroll data eased worries about economic growth. Investors now look ahead to the release of U.S. jobs data for August due later in the day.
The Australian market is extending gains from the previous session. Nevertheless, gains are modest as investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. jobs data later in the day.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 18.90 points or 0.29 percent to 6,632.10, after touching a high of 6,636.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.80 points or 0.31 percent to 6,741.60. Australian stocks closed higher on Thursday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is rising more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is advancing almost 1 percent and BHP Billiton is adding 0.6 percent.
Fortescue Metals has completed a $600 million bond offering and said it will use the proceeds to repay its debt.
The big four banks are also advancing. ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.4 percent to 0.6 percent.
In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum is declining 0.4 percent and Oil Search is down 0.2 percent, while Santos is adding 0.7 percent after crude oil prices closed flat overnight.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is losing more than 3 percent and Evolution Mining is declining more than 2 percent after gold prices fell overnight.
Ruralco Holdings' shareholders are set to vote Friday on A$469 million takeover bid by for the company from Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien. The rural services company's shares are edging up 0.1 percent.
Fonterra said it is delaying its corporate earnings results to give more time to auditors to tally the cost of write-downs that are expected to result in the company reporting a full-year loss. The dairy giant's shares are down 0.3 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in August, albeit at a slower pace, with a Performance of Construction Index score of 44.6. That's up sharply from 39.1 in July, although it still remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is slightly higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6818, compared to $0.6814 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is advancing and the yen weakened, with investor sentiment buoyed by the overnight gains on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 106.20 points or 0.50 percent to 21,192.14, after rising to a high of 21,227.57 earlier. Japanese shares hit a one-month high on Thursday.
The major exporters are mixed despite a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 1 percent and Canon is adding 0.3 percent, while Panasonic is lower by 2 percent and Sony is declining more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining 0.4 percent and Tokyo Electron is down 0.2 percent. In the auto sector, Honda Motor is advancing almost 2 percent and Toyota Motor is rising almost 1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is losing more than 3 percent, while Fast Retailing is higher by almost 2 percent.
Among oil stocks, Japan Petroleum and Inpex are declining 0.6 percent each after crude oil prices fell overnight.
Daiwa Securities announced a capital alliance with credit card company Credit Saison under which they will develop a smartphone payment system and other new services. Shares of Daiwa Securities are rising almost 2 percent, while Credit Saison's shares are gaining almost 3 percent.
Shares of Rakuten are losing almost 6 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported that the e-commerce group will delay the commercial launch of its wireless carrier service by six months due to slow progress in building the network.
Among the other major gainers, Sekisui House is gaining more than 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Chemical, Tokai Carbon and Daikin Industries are all higher by more than 3 percent each.
On the flip side, Pacific Metals is lower by 2 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the average of household spending in Japan was up 0.8 percent on year in July, coming in at 288,026 yen. That was in line with expectations and down from the 2.7 percent annual increase in June.
Japan will also release July figures for labor cash earnings as well as its leading and coincident indexes today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 107 yen-range on Friday. Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is advancing almost 1 percent, while Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Thursday, reflecting a positive reaction to news that the U.S. and China plan to hold high level trade talks in early October. U.S. and Chinese officials will purportedly hold deputy-level talks later this month in preparation for the meeting in October. A report from payroll processor ADP showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in August also generated buying interest.
The Dow surged up 372.68 points or 1.4 percent to 26,728.15, the Nasdaq spiked 139.95 points or 1.8 percent to 8,116.83 and the S&P 500 jumped 38.22 points or 1.3 percent to 2,976.00.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.6 percent, while the German DAX Index advanced 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
Crude oil futures surrendered their entire early gains and settled flat on Thursday. WTI crude for October ended up $0.04 or about 0.07 percent at $56.30 a barrel.
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