CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid mixed signals from the U.S.-Iran peace talks after news of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah emphatically rejecting the terms of a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and said it would not withdraw troops from the country, throwing the future of the wider Middle East truce into an abyss. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that final negotiations are underway to end the war in Iran, though Iran's foreign minister earlier indicated that talks had stalled.
The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,650 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 41.70 points or 0.48 percent to 8,644.40, after hitting a low of 8,613.60 and a high of 8,705.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 41.40 points or 0.46 percent to 8,875.50. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is down almost 2 percent, Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent and Fortescue is slipping almost 3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy and Santos are down almost 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent and Zip is advancing more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Appen is declining almost 4 percent and Xero is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are declining more than 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is declining almost 4 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining is tumbling almost 12 percent on disappointing second-quarter production update and guidance for its Syama Gold Mine in Mali.
In other news, shares in Megaport are jumping more than 17 percent on return to trade on Friday after completing the $518 million institutional component of its enormous $827.3 million fully underwritten entitlement offer.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Friday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Friday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 2.3 percent to near the 65,900 level, with weakness in technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks and a mixed performance across most other sectors.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 66,661.47, down 809.22 points or 1.20 percent, after hitting a low of 65,862.21 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent, while Honda is declining almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is tumbling almost 5 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 6 percent and Advantest is sliding more than 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are advancing more than 1 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is declining more than 3 percent and Canon is losing almost 1 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent.
Among other major losers, Sumco is plunging almost 10 percent, while Ibiden and Taiyo Yuden are tumbling almost 9 percent each. Renesas Electronics is sliding almost 7 percent, while Denka, Socionext and Murata Manufacturing are declining almost 6 percent. Mitsui Kinzoku and Fujikura are slipping almost 5 percent each, while Tokuyama, AGC and Fanuc are losing more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, Trend Micro is soaring more than 9 percent, T&D Holdings is jumping more than 8 percent and Japan Steel Works is surging more than 7 percent and Nintendo is advancing more than 5 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Shiseido are gaining more than 4 percent each. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen K.K. are adding almost 4 percent each, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Fujitsu, M3, SHIFT, Credit Saison, Tokyo Tatemono and Daiichi Sankyo are all rising more than 3 percent each.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was down 0.5 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 328,969 yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 2.9 percent drop in March.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, household spending rose 1.6 percent - again exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.8 percent following the 1.3 percent drop in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 612,163 yen, up 2.3 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Indonesia are sliding 3.2 and 1.5 percent, respectively. Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. New Zealand, China and Malaysia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday following the pullback seen during Wednesday's session. The Dow showed a significant move back to the upside, reaching a new record closing high.
The Dow gave back some ground going into the end of the day but still jumped 874.86 points or 1.7 percent to 51,561.93. The S&P 500 also climbed 30.63 points or 0.4 percent to 7,584.31 but the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 23.02 points or 0.1 percent at 26,830.98.
Meanwhile, most European stocks moved to the upside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices plunged on Wednesday on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East following an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announcement. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $3.00 or 3.12 percent at $93.02 per barrel.
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