CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday following the tech-driven rally overnight on Wall Street and on news that China and the U.S. have agreed to hold new trade talks in the coming days.
Encouraging news on the coronavirus vaccine front also lifted investor sentiment. Pfizer and BioNTech SE said they are on track to seek regulatory review for their coronavirus vaccine candidate as early as October 2020, assuming clinical success.
The Australian market has pared early gains and is currently little changed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 4.30 points or 0.07 percent to 6,115.70, after touching a high of 6,166.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 1.20 points or 0.02 percent to 6,272.90. Australian stocks closed lower on Thursday.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are higher in a range of 1.2 percent to 1.7 percent, while Commonwealth bank is adding 0.3 percent.
MyState reported a 3 percent decrease in full-year profit and said it will not pay a final dividend to shareholders. The Tasmanian banking group's shares are losing almost 4 percent.
Oil stocks are also higher even as crude oil prices slipped overnight. Santos is rising more than 2 percent, Woodside Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent and Oil Search is adding 0.3 percent.
The major miners are little changed. Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are edging up 0.1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is lower by 0.2 percent.
Gold miners are also little changed despite a rebound in gold prices overnight. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.1 percent and Newcrest Mining is declining 0.2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was slightly higher against the US dollar on Friday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7208, compared to $0.7190 at close on Thursday.
The Japanese market is advancing after the tech-driven rally overnight on Wall Street and on news that China and the U.S. have agreed to hold new trade talks in the coming days.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 97.74 points or 0.43 percent to 22,978.36 after rising to a high of 23,135.43 earlier. Japanese shares closed lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.1 percent and Fast Retailing is advancing more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher despite a stronger yen. Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Canon are adding 0.7 percent each. Sony is declining more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is higher by almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is up 0.6 percent. In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising 0.7 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding 0.4 percent.
Among automakers, Honda Motor is advancing more than 1 percent and Toyota is higher by almost 1 percent.
In the oil sector, Inpex is adding almost 1 percent, while Japan Petroleum is down 0.6 percent after crude oil prices declined overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Nippon Sheet Glass is gaining almost 4 percent and Z Holdings is rising more than 3 percent. JFE Holdings and Yokohama Rubber are higher by almost 3 percent each.
On the economic front, nationwide consumer prices in Japan were up 0.3 percent on year in July, in line with expectations and up from 0.1 percent in June. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food costs, came in flat on year and shy of expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent but unchanged from the previous month.
The latest survey from Jibun Bank showed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in July, albeit at a weaker pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 46.6. That's up from 45.2 in June, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The survey also showed that the services PMI fell to 45.0 from 45.4 in June, while the composite PMI was unchanged at 44.9.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 105 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is rising almost 2 percent, while New Zealand, South Korea and Hong Kong are all advancing more than 1 percent each. Singapore, Shanghai and Malaysia are also higher, while Indonesia is lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Thursday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching a new record closing high due to strength among technology stocks. Stocks initially moved to the downside after a Labor Department report showed an unexpected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 15. Selling pressure waned later as the negative sentiment was partly offset by news that China and the U.S. have agreed to hold new trade talks in the coming days.
While the Nasdaq jumped 118.49 points or 1.1 percent to 11,264.95, the Dow edged up 46.85 points or 0.2 percent to 27,739.73 and the S&P 500 rose 10.66 points or 0.3 percent to 3,385.51.
The major European markets showed significant moves to the downside on Thursday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index plunged by 1.6 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday on concerns over demand recovery due to the resurgence of the coronavirus. WTI crude futures for September delivery fell $0.35 to $42.58 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
