Asian Markets Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders weighed upbeat fourth quarter US GDP data against the prospect of higher interest rates. Traders also picked up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off, particularly in technology stocks. Asian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Economists pointed out the strong GDP growth was primarily due to a massive surge in business inventories

The Australian stock market is sharply higher after giving up some of the initial sharp gains in choppy trading on Friday, recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 6,900 level, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Traders are also digesting upbeat fourth quarter US GDP data.

Meanwhile, traders remain concerned over the domestic Covid-19 cases, though on a decline. New South Wales reported 13,333 new cases and 35 deaths on Thursday and Victoria also reported 12,755 new cases and 39 deaths. Queensland recorded 9,974 new cases and 18 deaths, ACT reported 734 new cases and Tasmania reported 584 new cases.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 156.70 points or 2.29 percent to 6,995.00, after touching a high of 7,000.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 159.90 points or 2.25 percent to 7,274.40. Australian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 3 percent, BHP Group is adding more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is slipping more than 1 percent and OZ Minerals is sliding more than 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is gaining almost 1 percent, while Beach energy is declining more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent. Woodside Petroleum is flat.

Among tech stocks, Appen and Xero are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Zip and WiseTech Global are declining almost 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is declining almost 2 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are losing more than 1 percent each. Westpac is flat.

Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining almost 3 percent and Gold Road Resources is down 2.5 percent. Resolute Mining is flat. Newcrest Mining is plunging almost 7 percent after it flagged weather issues and Omicron-led headwinds at its Lihir mine.

In economic news, final demand producer prices were up 1.3 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, accelerating from 1.1 percent in the previous three months. On a yearly basis, producer prices were up 3.7 percent, up from 2.9 percent in the three months prior.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.704 on Friday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Friday, snapping a losing streak of five sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 gaining more than 500 points to move above the 26,700 level, despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off.

Meanwhile, trades also remain concerned about the sharp spike in domestic new coronavirus infections, with daily new COVID-19 cases in Japan surging to a new record of 78,929 cases on Thursday, topping the 70,000 mark for the second day in a row to push hospitals and clinics to the breaking point. The daily new cases also hit record highs each day since last week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 26,720.06, up 549.76 points or 2.10 percent, after touching a high of 26,731.02 earlier. Japanese shares closed sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 1.5 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining 1.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent, Panasonic is adding more than 2 percent and Sony is adding almost 3 percent, while Canon is declining almost 3 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Fuji Electric is soaring almost 9 percent, Shin-Etsu Chemical is surging more than 7 percent and Fujikura is rising almost 7 percent, while Nitto Denko and Chugai Pharmaceutical are gaining almost 5 percent each. Idemitsu Kosan, Daiichi Sankyo, Marui Group, NSK and Citizen Watch are all adding almost 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Asahi Kasei, Recruit Holdings and Nissan Chemical are advancing more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Fujitsu is plunging almost 10 percent, while Nisshin Seifun Group, Otsuka Holdings and NEC are losing almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, consumer prices in the Tokyo region of Japan were up 0.5 percent on year in January, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent and was down from 0.8 percent in December. On a monthly basis, inflation was up 0.3 percent. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, was up an annual 0.2 percent – also missing forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent and down from 0.5 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 115 yen-range on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is gaining 1.4 percent, while China, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each. New Zealand and Hong Kong are down 1.2 and 0.7 percent, respectively. Taiwan is closed for long Lunar New Year break.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a substantial downturn over the course of the trading day on Thursday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The volatility on the day extended the rollercoaster ride the major averages have been on throughout the week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped as much as 1.7 percent in early trading but ended the day down 189.34 points or 1.4 percent at 13,352.78. The S&P 500 also slid 23.42 points or 0.5 percent to 4,326.51 after surging as much as 1.8 percent. The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, edging down 7.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 34,160.78.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside after seeing early weakness. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices retreated Thursday as the dollar climbed after the Fed signaled that it would start raising interest rates in March. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $0.74 or 0.9 percent at $86.61 a barrel.

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