CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday with modest gains following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street reflecting weakness in tech stocks. Some of the markets pared early gains as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines amid worries about the global economic recovery.
The Australian market pared early gains to trade flat after Victoria reported the highest number of daily coronavirus cases on Friday in the past eight days.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 1.20 points or 0.02 percent to 5,884.40, after touching a low of 5,866.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 6.00 points or 0.10 percent to 6,075.20. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.
The big four banks - ANZ Banking, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank - are lower in a range of 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent.
In the tech sector, Afterpay is advancing almost 2 percent, Appen is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is higher by almost 1 percent, while their U.S. peers fell overnight.
The major miners are also higher. Rio Tinto is rising almost 2 percent, BHP Group is advancing more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding 0.6 percent.
Gold miners rose despite a fall in gold prices overnight. Evolution Mining is higher by more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is up 0.3 percent.
In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum is rising 0.6 percent and Oil Search is adding 0.4 percent, while Santos is declining almost 1 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Fonterra reported a turnaround to profit for the full year, reduced its debt by more than NZ$1 billion and also paid a final dividend. The New Zealand-based dairy giant's shares are advancing more than 1 percent.
The Japanese market slipped into negative territory after opening higher as worries about the global economic recovery dampened sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 22.73 points or 0.10 percent to 23,296.64, after rising to a high of 23,398.46 in early trades. Japanese stocks fell on Thursday even as the Bank of Japan maintained its massive monetary policy stimulus.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is lower by more than 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is adding 0.2 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower on a stronger yen. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are lower by almost 1 percent each, while Canon is down 0.3 percent. Sony is adding more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is lower by 0.1 percent, while Advantest is adding 0.4 percent. In the financial sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent, while Toyota is adding 0.5 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is lower by 0.4 percent, while Japan Petroleum is adding 0.1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, NTT Data and Isuzu Motors are gaining more than 4 percent each, while NEC Corp. and Toyota Tsusho Corp. are rising almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Japan Exchange Group, Chugai Pharmaceutical and KDDI Corp. are lower by more than 2 percent each, while Shinsei Bank, Dena Co. and Daiichi Sankyo are lower by almost 2 percent each.
In economic news, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that overall nationwide consumer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on year in August - in line with expectations and slowing from 0.3 percent in July.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food costs, sank an annual 0.4 percent - again matching forecasts following the flat reading in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 104 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan and Malaysia are all modestly higher, while New Zealand and Singapore are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks extended the sell-off on Thursday from the previous session after the Federal Reserve revealed plans to leave interest rates at near-zero levels for years to come. The Fed's dovish monetary policy announcement was expected to help calm the markets, although investors seem to be viewing the central bank's projections as a sign the economic recovery will not be as swift as many were hoping. Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell less than expected in the week ended September 12.
The Dow fell 130.40 points or 0.5 percent to 27,901.98, the Nasdaq tumbled 140.19 points or 1.3 percent to 10,910.28, and the S&P 500 slumped 28.48 points or 0.8 percent to 3,357.01.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on Thursday. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices recovered from early weakness to end on a firm note on Thursday. WTI crude for October added $0.81 or about 2 percent to $40.97 a barrel.
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