CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan closed for holidays, on optimism about the end of the Middle East war amid the inking of an interim peace agreement and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. These were partially offset by concerns about a possible interest rate hike by the US Fed later this year. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
The tumbling crude oil prices due to the hopes of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a plunge in gold prices due to the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates, both of which weighed on the energy and metal-linked materials sectors. Crude oil prices are pulling back further toward the levels seen before the war began in late February.
The MoU between the U.S. and Iran will enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. will lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports.
As per the 14-point framework deal, the U.S. and Iranian teams will begin talks to reach a final deal over the next 60 days.
The Australian stock market is trading significantly lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,850 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks. Technology stocks were the only bright spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 87.40 points or 0.98 percent to 8,823.70, after hitting a low of 8,812.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 85.90 points or 0.94 percent to 9,040.90. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is down more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is declining almost 3 percent, BHP Group is losing more than 3 percent and Fortescue is slipping more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy, Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Santos is down more than 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Zip is jumping almost 7 percent and Appen is gaining more than 1 percent. Xero is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent and Westpac is declining more than 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is down almost 3 percent, Evolution Mining is losing almost 4 percent, Genesis Minerals is declining more than 2 percent, Newmont is declining more than 4 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping more than 3 percent.
In other news, shares in SkyCity Entertainment are jumping almost 16 percent after it reached an agreement to pay $21 million for breaches of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism laws at its Adelaide casino.
Shares in IDP Education soaring more than 11 percent after it raised adjusted EBIT guidance for the full-year 2026.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Friday.
The Japanese market is trading modestly higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous five sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 71,300 level, with gains in technology stocks partially offset by losses in exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 71,314.67, up 261.18 points or 0.37 percent, after touching a high of 71,952.99 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 1 percent and Honda is edging down 0.1 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 3 percent and Advantest is advancing almost 5 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining more than 3 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Sony is losing more than 3 percent.
Among other major gainers, Furukawa Electric is soaring more than 15 percent, Sumitomo Electric Industries is jumping more than 11 percent, Socionext is surging almost 7 percent, Renesas Electronics is advancing more than 6 percent, Kioxia Holdings is gaining almost 6 percent, Resonac Holdings is adding almost 5 percent, Omron is rising more than 4 percent and Isuzu Motors is up more than 3 percent, while Murata Manufacturing, Toppan Holdings, Disco, Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Toto are gaining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, BayCurrent is plunging more than 10 percent, NEC is tumbling more than 6 percent and Dentsu Group is sliding more than 5 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Nomura Research Institute, Daiichi Sankyo, Fujitsu and Japan Exchange Group are declining almost 5 percent each. Subaru is declining more than 4 percent, while SHIFT, DeNA and Yokohama Financial Group are slipping almost 4 percent each.
In economic news, Japan's annual inflation rate edged higher to 1.5 percent in May 2026 from 1.4 percent in the previous month. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent, up from 0.1 percent in April.
Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food but includes energy, rose 1.4 percent year-on-year in May 2026, in line with both the previous figure and market forecasts It still marked the lowest level since March 2022 and remained below the Bank of Japan's 2% target for a fourth straight month.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan will on Friday release the minutes from its April 27-28 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the BoJ voted 6-3 to retain its key interest rate around 0.75 percent and upgraded its inflation outlook citing higher global crude oil prices due to the Iran war. The policy assessment added to expectations for an interest rate hike in the near-term.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 161 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 2.2 percent, while New Zealand and Indonesia are up 0.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Singapore and Malaysia are down 0.4 percent each. China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday and continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the day, after coming under pressure late in the previous session.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, surging 496.28 points or 1.9 percent to 26,517.93. The S&P 500 also jumped 80.48 points or 1.1 percent to 7,500.58, while the narrower Dow posted a much more modest gain, inching up 72.15 points or 0.1 percent to 51,564.70.
Meanwhile, the major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices edged lower on Thursday after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of the free flow of oil from the gulf. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $0.53 or 0.69 percent at $76.26 per barrel.
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