CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, hurt by tumbling technology stocks that mirror their peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq amid fresh concerns about artificial intelligence disruptions to traditional business models weighing on several sectors, such as financial, transportation and logistics as well as commercial real estate companies. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
Traders are now looking ahead to US consumer price index report later in the day that may shed additional light on the US Fed's outlook for rates.
A poll by Reuters suggested that the Fed may maintain rates throughout the end of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term in May, and markets expect a likely reduction only after Powell's successor assumes the role of Fed Chair.
The Australian stock market is trading significantly lower on Friday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,950 level, with weakness across all segments led by technology and mining stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 124.00 points or 1.37 percent to 8,919.50, after hitting a low of 8,918.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 138.80 points or 1.50 percent to 9,143.00. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, BHP Group is declining 1.5 percent, Fortescue is edging down 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping almost 3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly weak. Santos is slipping more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 4 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is declining more than 7 percent, WiseTech Global is tumbling almost 13 percent, Zip is sliding more than 4 percent, Xero is losing more than 5 percent and Appen is slipping almost 7 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent and Westpac is down almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 4 percent each, while Newmont is slipping more than 3 percent, Genesis Minerals is tumbling more than 6 percent and Resolute Mining is down almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.709 on Friday.
The Japanese market is notably lower on Friday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 57,250 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 57,226.59, down 413.25 points or 0.72 percent, after hitting a low of 56,652.48 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling almost 7 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent, while Honda is losing almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 3 percent, while Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Mizuho Financial is down more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 1 percent, Canon is down more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 4 percent and Panasonic is slipping 2.5 percent.
Among other major losers, Nikon is plunging more than 16 percent, Inpex is tumbling almost 10 percent, Tokai Carbon is sliding more than 9 percent, Rakuten Group is slipping almost 8 percent, Recruit Holdings is declining more than 7 percent, Sumitomo Metal Mining is losing almost 7 percent and NEC is down more than 6 percent, while Haseko and Dowa Holdings are losing almost 6 percent each. Sumco is slipping more than 5 percent and Marubeni is down almost 5 percent, while Nippon Electric Glass, Kajima and Hitachi are declining more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, Nissan Motor is jumping almost 9 percent, Amada is advancing almost 4 percent, KDDI is gaining more than 3 percent and Denso is adding almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 153 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is down 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong and Singapore are down 1.4 and 1.2 percent, respectively. China, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.3 and 0.8 percent each. South Korea. is bucking the trend and is up 0.5 percent. Taiwan is still closed for the Lunar New Year holidays until February 23.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Thursday after ending Wednesday's choppy trading session modestly lower. The major averages once again failed to sustain an early upward move and pulled sharply as the day progressed.
The major averages saw further downside going into the end of the day, closing near their lows of the session. The Nasdaq plunged 469.32 points or 2.0 percent to 22,597.15, the S&P 500 tumbled 108.71 points or 1.6 percent to 6,832.76 and the Dow slumped 669.42 points or 1.3 percent to 49,451.98.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.7 percent.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday after the demand forecast by the International Energy Agency for 2026 projected an overwhelming supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.97 or 3.05 percent at $62.66 per barrel.
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