Asian Markets Lower In Thin Holiday Trading

Asian stock markets are lower on Friday in thin holiday trading with investors treading cautiously following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street and lower commodity prices. Many of the markets in the region, including China, Japan and South Korea, are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Australian market is modestly lower following the mixed cues from Wall Street. Investors also turned cautious after a snap five-day lockdown was announced in Victoria as new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is declining 13.70 points or 0.20 percent to 6,836.40, after falling to a low of 6833.90. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 12.40 points or 0.17 percent to 7,109.70. Australian stocks closed little changed on Thursday.

Oil stocks are lower as crude oil prices declined overnight after eight consecutive days of gains. Oil Search is losing more than 2 percent, Santos is lower by almost 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is declining 0.5 percent.

Gold miners are also weak as gold prices fell after four straight days of gains. Evolution Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is down 0.2 percent.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is lower by 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is adding 0.4 percent.

The big four banks are mixed. Commonwealth Bank is adding 0.4 percent and ANZ Banking is up 0.2 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are down 0.1 percent each.

Mirvac Group reported a 35 percent fall in profit for the first half of the year and declared a lower interim dividend compared to the prior-year period. The property developer’s shares are losing more than 2 percent.

CSL said the manufacture of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Australia will reach the final stages next week and the first doses will be released at the end of March after regulatory approval. The biotechnology company’s shares are up 0.2 percent.

The Japanese market, which resumed trading after a holiday in the previous session, slipped into negative territory after opening higher.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 111.43 points or 0.38 percent to 29,451.50, after touching a high of 29,650.51 in early trades.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is lower by more than 3 percent, while Toyota is rising more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are also mostly lower despite a weaker yen. Sony is losing more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 1 percent and Canon is down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic is adding 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 4 percent and Advantest is rising almost 4 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is rising 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding 0.3 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Screen Holdings, Citizen Watch and Sumco Corp. are gaining almost 4 percent each. Subaru is rising more than 3 percent, while Inpex, Dena Co. and Haseko Corp. are higher by almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Mitsui OSK Lines is losing more than 5 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Tokyo Electric Power and Kuraray Co. are lower by almost 5 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 104 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is declining more than 1 percent. Many of the markets in the region are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Thursday in choppy trading as buying interest was somewhat subdued following recent strength. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs. Optimism about additional stimulus continued to support the markets along with largely upbeat earnings news, a slowdown in the rate of coronavirus infections and accelerated vaccine rollouts.

The Dow edged down 7.10 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 31,430.70, while the Nasdaq climbed 53.24 points or 0.4 percent to 14,025.77 and the S&P 500 rose 6.50 points or 0.2 percent to 3,916.38.

The major European markets closed mostly higher on Thursday. While the German DAX Index also advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed marginally lower.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday, taking a breather after eight straight days of gains. Crude for May delivery fell $0.44 or about 0.8 percent to $58.24 a barrel.

Market Analysis