CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday, following the broadly negative from Wall Street overnight, as stronger-than-expected US monthly jobs growth in January pushed back expectations of near term interest rate cuts by the US Fed. Traders are now awaiting Friday's US consumer price index report that may shed additional light on the outlook for rates. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
The data showed employment posting its largest increase in over a year in January and the unemployment rate unexpectedly declining, signaling a resilient labor market at the start of 2026.
Following these strong numbers, traders have trimmed their expectations on rate cuts and are betting on a 92.1% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged at its next meeting, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
The Australian market is trading notably higher on Thursday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 9,050 level, boosted by strong corporate earnings. Strong gains in mining and financial stocks were partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 66.40 points or 0.74 percent to 9,081.20, after touching a high of 9,105.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 39.30 points or 0.42 percent to 9,321.10. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is advancing almost 5 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 4 percent, Fortescue adding more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is surging almost 6 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining more than 4 percent, while Origin Energy is surging more than 5 percent and Woodside Energy is gaining more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are tumbling more than 6 percent each, while Xero is slipping more than 8 percent and Appen is plunging almost 12 percent. Zip is edging up 0.4 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac advancing almost 6 percent, National Australia Bank is surging more than 7 percent, ANZ Banking is jumping more than 10 percent and Commonwealth Bank is soaring more than 12 percent on better-than-expected results.
Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is adding more than 2 percent, Evolution Mining is surging more than 6 percent, Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 5 percent, Genesis Minerals is up more than 2 percent and Newmont is advancing more than 3 percent.
In other news, shares in AMP are tumbling more than 29 percent as after the 11.3 percent drop in full-year net profit amid the 'settlement of legacy legal matters and business simplification'.
Shares in Temple & Webster are also plunging more than 26 percent as the online homewares and furniture retailer suffered a 36 percent slump in net profit after tax in the six months ended December 31.
Shares in Pro Medicus are diving more than 20 percent after the health imaging technology company reported first-half revenues that missed estimates amid higher operational costs.. CEO Sam Hupert also spoke in an accompanying interview about the threat of AI on the company's business.
In economic news, Australia's consumer inflation expectations rose to 5.0 percent in February from 4.6 percent in the previous month, marking the highest level since July 2023. The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled inflation will remain above its 2 to 3 percent target band for an extended period. Projections suggest inflation in Australia may not return within the band until mid-2027.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.713 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading slightly lower on Thursday after opening in the green, snapping a three-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 57,600 level, with weakness in automakers and technology stocks nearly offset by gains in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 57,605.53, down 45.01 points or 0.08 percent, after touching a high of 58,015.08 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Tuesday ahead of the holiday on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining 1.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 1 percent and Honda is declining more than 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 2 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are losing almost 1 percent each.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.2 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 2 percent.
Among other major gainers, Shiseido is skyrocketing almost 14 percent, Mitsui Kinzoku is soaring more than 11 percent, Ibiden is jumping almost 8 percent and Resonac Holdings is surging more than 7 percent, while Mitsubishi Materials and Sumitomo Metal Mining are advancing more than 6 percent each. Toyota Tsusho is up almost 5 percent, while Dowa Holdings, Tokyu, Tokyo Tatemono and Mitsui & Co. are gaining more than 4 percent each. Taiheiyo Cement, Tokyo Electric Power and Daikin Industries are advancing almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, Sharp is tumbling more than 11 percent and BayCurrent is slipping more than 8 percent, while IHI, Sumco and NEC are slipping more than 6 percent each. Recruit Holdings is losing almost 5 percent and LY is sliding almost 4 percent, while CyberAgent, Socionext and SHIFT are declining more than 3 percent each. Toray Industries, Nomura Research Institute and Fujitsu are down almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in January, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday - in line with expectations and up from 0.1 percent in December. On a yearly basis, producer prices rose 2.3 percent - again matching forecasts while moderating from 2.4 percent in the previous month.
Export prices were up 2.0 percent on month and 4.7 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices rose 1.2 percent on month but dipped 0.2 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 153 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 2.6 percent, while China and Singapore are up 0.1 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. New Zealand is relatively flat. Taiwan is closed for the Lunar New Year holidays until February 23.
On Wall Street, stocks quickly gave back ground in early trading on Wednesday after failing to sustain an initial move to the upside and showed a lack of direction over the remainder of the session. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.
The Dow slipped 66.74 points or 0.1 percent to 50,1212.40, the Nasdaq dipped 36.01 points or 0.2 percent to 23,066.47 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.34 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,941.47.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices climbed on Wednesday amid heightening tension between the U.S. and Iran, with Israel's intervention exacerbating the standoff. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.57 or 0.89 percent at $64.53 per barrel.
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