CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are a sea of red on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid tumbling technology stocks, and spiking crude oil prices on concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East set off by new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi's in Yemen on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea for violating their maritime blockade. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated, fueling concerns of major global central banks hiking interest rates. Traders look ahead to next week's US Federal Reserve meeting, with traders expecting no change in policy rates.
According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, investors are currently betting on a 35.80% chance of a quarter-basis-point interest rate-hike at the upcoming meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve on July 28-29, while the odds on rates being held at the current level stand at 64.20%.
US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. would hold Iran responsible if the militant group continues the attacks. Syed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said his country would adopt an 'eye for an eye' defense doctrine as the U.S. military carried out a 12th straight night of strikes against Iran.
The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Friday, snapping a three-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,800 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 53.50 points or 0.61 percent to 8,785.50, after hitting a low of 8,776.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 62.70 points or 0.70 percent to 8,955.40. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is down almost 1 percent and Fortescue is edging down 0.5 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are losing almost 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent and Beach energy is advancing more than 3 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent, Appen is declining more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 4 percent, while Zip and Xero are slipping almost 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank is edging up 0.4 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Genesis Minerals and Evolution Mining are losing more than 2 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining almost 3 percent, Newmont is edging down 0.2 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping almost 5 percent.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in July, and at a slightly faster pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.7. That's up from 51.5 and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI jumped to 53.0 from 50.5 in June and the Composite PMI improved to 52.6 from 50.4.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.698 on Friday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Friday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 2.8 percent to well below the 64,600 mark, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 64,568.75, down 1,853.85 points or 2.79 percent, after hitting a low of 64,334.29 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling more than 6 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is declining almost 2 percent and Honda is losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 7 percent, Screen Holdings is slipping more than 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is sliding almost 5 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is losing almost 3 percent and Canon is down almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are slipping almost 2 percent each.
Among other major losers, Disco is plunging more than 12 percent and Taiyo Yuden is tumbling more than 6 percent, while Mitsui Kinzoku, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Mitsubishi Motors and Kioxia Holdings are declining almost 5 percent each. Furukawa Electric, Sumco and Resonac Holdings are sliding more than 4 percent each, while Shin-Etsu Chemical is declining almost 4 percent.
Conversely, BayCurrent is gaining almost 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan's annual inflation rate accelerated to 1.7 percent in June 2026 from 1.5 percent in the prior month, marking the highest reading since December. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food, rose to 1.6 percent from 1.4 percent, matching market consensus and reaching its highest since March. However, core inflation remained below the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target for a fifth straight month.
Japan's food prices increased 3.2 percent on year in June 2026, slowing from 3.5 percent in May and marking the softest rise since July 2024.
The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing PMI inched down to 54.7 in July 2026 from 54.8 in the previous month, but surpassed market expectations of 54.5, preliminary estimates showed. It was the seventh straight month of expansion. The Services PMI Business Activity Index eased to 51.9 in July 2026 from a final 52.2 in the previous month, flash estimates showed.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 163 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 3.9 percent, while New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.4 and 1.7 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Thursday after ending Wednesday's choppy session modestly lower. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep decline.
The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 553.21 points or 2.2 percent to 25,137.69, the S&P 500 tumbled 90.66 points or 1.2 percent to 7,408.30 and the Dow slumped 506.93 points or 1 percent to 51,711.65.
The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both tumbled by 1.6 percent.
Crude oil prices surged again on Thursday amid concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East set off by new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $5.76 or 6.63 percent at $92.59 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
