CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, on a renewed spike in crude oil prices amid the re-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Technology and semiconductor stocks also took a hit amid renewed concerns about debt-fueled AI infrastructure spending, with concerns about AI seeming to shift on a daily basis. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
The U.S. and Israel are reportedly planning for a joint military operation against Iran after the November midterm elections in the U.S. However, diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Iran are ongoing.
The joint operation is set to be a short but intense military action targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure, and missile and drone capabilities. The two nations have started rehearsing maneuvers.
A spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps announced that the country is set to unveil a new weapon, which it termed 'Father Of All Bombs' to counter the Pentagon's 'Mother Of All Bombs.'
Energy-driven inflation worries have taken center stage as a potential Middle East war could disrupt oil and energy trade for an indefinite period.
Despite inflation concerns due to the jump in crude oil prices, the US Fed is still widely seen as likely to leave interest rates unchanged at its October 27-28 meeting.
The CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently predicts a 92.8 percent the Fed will leave rates unchanged next week, although there is a 72.4 percent chance of a quarter point rate hike in December.
The Australian stock market is trading modestly 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 well below the 8,800 level, with weakness in across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Financial stocks were the only bright spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 32.70 points or 0.37 percent to 8,760.50, after hitting a low of 8,752.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 47.50 points or 0.53 percent to 8,869.60. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is declining more than 3 percent each, while Fortescue, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are losing more than 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent, Santos is declining almost 4 percent and Woodside Energy is losing more than 2 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent and Xero is adding more than 2 percent, while Appen is slipping more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is declining more than 3 percent. Zip is plummeting almost 30 percent after its first-quarter update revealed a major U.S. fraud incident and higher-than-expected bad debt.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 3 percent and ANZ Banking is adding more than 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is losing almost 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is sliding more than 4 percent, Evolution Mining is slipping almost 3 percent, Resolute Mining is tumbling more than 6 percent and Newmont is declining more than 2 percent.
In other news, shares in Temple & Webster are plunging almost 29 percent after he online furniture retailer highlighted an 8 percent decline in top-line sales to date amid weak demand, alongside a shift in its business strategy.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in October, albeit at a slightly slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.7. That's up marginally from 49.6 in September, and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The services PMI dropped to 47.8 in October from 51.9 in September, while the composite PMI fell to 47.7 from 51.3.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Friday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 61,850 level, with weakness in across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 61,825.26, down 1,082.58 points or 1.72 percent, after hitting a low of 61,462.61 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining almost 6 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.3 percent and Honda is also edging down 0.4 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 3 percent and Screen Holdings is slipping more than 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are declining more than 5 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is slipping more than 6 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is tumbling almost 6 percent, Panasonic is slipping more than 5 percent and Canon is edging down 0.1 percent, while Sony is edging up 0.3 percent.
Among other major losers, Resona Holdings is tumbling more than 6 percent, while Mitsui Kinzoku, Sumco, Taiyo Yuden and Hitachi are slipping more than 5 percent each. Murata Manufacturing, Chiba Bank, JX Advanced Metals, Yokohama Financial, Kokusai Electric, Fukuoka Financial, Omron and Sumitomo Metal Mining are all declining almost 5 percent each.
Conversely, Sapporo Holdings is surging more than 5 percent and ZOZO is advancing almost 4 percent, while Kikkoman, Aeon, Olympus and Chugai Pharmaceutical are gaining more than 3 percent each.
In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were up 2.1 percent on year in September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - in line with expectations and up from 1.9 percent in August. On a monthly basis, inflation was flat after rising 0.1 percent in August. Core CPI also was up 2.1 percent on year, matching forecasts and up from 1.7 percent in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 156 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and China are tumbling 2.5 and 2.2 percent, respectively. Taiwan is slipping 1.8 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore are lower by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.5 percent. Malaysia is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside during trading on Thursday after trending higher over the past few sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, tumbling to its lowest closing level in over a month.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq plunged 694.00 points or 2.6 percent to 26,008.86 and the S&P 500 slumped 93.74 points or 1.2 percent to 7,663.43. The narrower Dow closed up 11.89 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 52,867.98.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled 1.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest loss, dipping by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices surged on Thursday on rising concerns of long-term supply disruptions following reports that the U.S. and Israel are planning a joint military operation against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $2.19 or 2.25 percent at $99.34 per barrel.
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