CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are a sea of red on Friday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid heightening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region after Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran in a major escalation of the regional conflict. US officials confirmed that the U.S. had no involvement or role in the operation. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are also rising over the latter's nuclear developments. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region. Iranian defense minister threatened that Iran would attack US bases if there is a conflict.
There is also lingering uncertainty about trade amid a lack of details about the announced U.S.-China trade deal.
Trump told reporters he would send letters to other U.S. trade partners in about two weeks setting unilateral tariff rates. He also indicated he would be willing to extend the 90-day pause on tariffs set to expire early next month but said he doesn't think it will be necessary.
The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Friday after opening in the green, extending the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,550 level, with weakness is technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 19.20 points or 0.22 percent to 8,545.90, after touching a high of 8,577.40 and a low of 8,525.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 26.60 points or 0.30 percent to 8,769.40. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is declining more than 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining 1.5 percent each, while
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining almost 4 percent, Woodside Energy are advancing almost 6 percent, Beach energy is adding almost 3 percent and Origin Energy is surging more than 6 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block and Appen are declining more than 2 percent each, while Xero is edging down 0.2 percent, WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent and Zip is down more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.3 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is up almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding almost 4 percent, Newmont is surging more than 5 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 5 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 1 percent.
In other news, shares in Accent Group, which owns the Hype and Platypus chains and fashion outlet Glue Store, plunged more than 22 percent after the footwear retailer warned that sales have flagged post-Christmas.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Friday.
Extending the losses in the previous session, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Friday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 37,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,665.93, down 507.16 points or 1.33 percent, after hitting a low of 37,540.20 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 3 percent and Honda is down almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.2 percent, Tokyo Electron is slipping almost 6 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing more than 1 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Sony and Canon are declining more than 2 percent each, while Panasonic is losing 2.5 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent.
Among other major losers, Subaru is losing more than 4 percent, while Sumco, Toray Industries, Recruit Holdings, Mazda Motor and Disco are declining almost 4 percent each. Taiyo Yuden, Trend Micro and Mitsubishi Motors are slipping more than 3 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing, Yokohama Rubber, TDK and Japan Airlines are down almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, NEXON is surging more than 6 percent, Inpex is gaining almost 4 percent and Hino Motors is adding almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 143 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 and 1.1 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks recovered from an early move to the downside to move modestly higher over the course of the trading session on Thursday. With the turnaround, the major averages largely offset the pullback seen during Wednesday's session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 rebounding to three-month closing highs.
The S&P 500 ended the day up 23.02 points or 0.4 percent at 6,045.26, the Dow climbed 101.85 points or 0.2 percent to 42,967.62 and the Nasdaq rose 46.61 points or 0.2 percent to 19,662.48.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.7 percent.
Crude oil prices showed a modest move back to the downside during trading on Thursday, with profit taking limited by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear developments. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.11 to $68.04 per barrel.
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