Asian Markets Lower On Wall Street Cues

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Friday following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street. Investors are also treading cautiously as they digested a raft of economic data from Japan and China. Meanwhile,many of the markets in Asia are closed on Friday for the Labor Day holiday.

The latest data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday that the manufacturing sector in China continued to barely expand in April, with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.1. That beat expectations for 50.0, and was unchanged from the March reading. It also remained just above the line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The bureau also said that its non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.4 - down from 53.7 but still well into expansion territory.

The Australian market drifted into negative territory and is marginally lower, following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street. However, gains by mining stocks helped to limit the downside.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 18.40 points or 0.32 percent to 5,771.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index is losing 18.80 points or 0.33 percent to 5,754.90.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) are advancing more than 1 percent each. BHP Billiton said it has received oil exploration licenses from the government of the Caribbean island of Barbados.

Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 5 percent and BC Iron is higher by almost 7 percent after Brazilian mining giant Vale said it is prepared to withhold about 30 million tons of iron ore from its highest-cost mines if the weak market persisted. The company's announcement is seen as a positive for iron ore prices.

Atlas Iron, which earlier said it will suspend mining at three iron ore mines, has now decided to keep operating two of those mines in Pilbara. Shares of the company were unchanged.

Meanwhile, gold miner Newcrest Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is down more than 2 percent after gold prices fell 2 percent overnight.

Among the major banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac (WBK) are lower in a range of 0.2 to 0.6 percent.

National Australia Bank said it expects to raise up to $495 million from the sale of its controlling stake in regional U.S. lender Great Western Bancorp Inc.

Former AMP chief executive Craig Dunn has been named to Westpac's board of directors. He will join the bank's board from June 1.

In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum is down 0.3 percent and Oil Search is declining 0.2 percent, while Santos is advancing more than 1 percent.

Virgin Australia reported a loss for the March quarter that narrowed from last year, on lower costs and improved passenger yields. The airline's shares are down almost 1 percent.

On the economic front, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed on Friday with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 48.0. That's up from 46.3 in March, although it remains below the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar amid weaker iron ore prices and ahead of the RBA's board meeting next week. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7906, down from Thursday's close of US$0.7968.

The Japanese market is extending losses from the previous session following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors treaded cautiously as they digested a raft of mixed economic data.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 46.87 points or 0.24 percent to 19,473.14, after falling to 19,432.17 in early trades.

Among the major exporters, Sony Corp. (SNE) is down more than 2 percent, Nikon Corp. is down 0.4 percent and Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Sony reported a loss for the full year that narrowed from last year and also forecast a net profit of 140 billion yen for fiscal 2015, which would be its first profit in three years.

The Nikkei business daily reported that Dai-ichi Life Insurance is expected to post an 80 percent jump in net profit for fiscal 2014 to more than 140 billion yen. However, shares of the company are down more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Fanuc is edging up 0.3 percent, while Casio Computer is losing more than 1 percent and Hitachi is declining 0.7 percent.

Softbank is lower by 0.5 percent, while market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores, is adding almost 1 percent.

In the auto sector, Honda (HMC) is adding 1 percent, Toyota (TM) is declining more than 1 percent and Nissan are losing more than 2 percent each.

Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are down more than 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial (MFG) is losing almost 1 percent.

On the economic front, consumer prices in Japan gained 2.3 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That exceeded forecasts for 2.2 percent, which would have been unchanged from the February reading.

Core inflation, which strips out the volatile costs of food, advanced 2.2 percent - topping expectations for 2.0 percent, which also would have been unchanged.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent on year in March. That beat forecasts for 3.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the February reading.

The average of household spending in Japan was down 10.6 percent on year in March, standing at 317,579 yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 11.8 percent following the 2.9 percent drop in February.

Meanwhile, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed that the manufacturing sector in Japan fell into contraction for the first time in nine months, with a revised manufacturing PMI reading of 49.9.

That's up from last month's preliminary April reading of 47.7, although it's down from 50.3 in March. It also slipped below the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 119 yen-range on Friday, up from Thursday's close in the upper 118 yen range.

Many of the markets in Asia are closed on Friday for the Labor Day holiday, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Meanwhile, the New Zealand market is marginally lower.

On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, adding to the losses posted in the previous session. The weakness on Wall Street was partly due to ongoing uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates even after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Dow tumbled 195.01 points or 1.1 percent to 17,840.52, the Nasdaq plummeted 82.22 points or 1.6 percent to 4,941.42 and the S&P 500 slid 21.34 points or 1 percent to 2,085.51.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended modestly higher on Thursday. While the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.

U.S. crude oil surged to end higher for a third straight session on Thursday, on some upbeat jobless claims for unemployment benefits data from the U.S. with the dollar continuing to slide.

Crude oil futures for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, jumped $1.05 or 1.8 percent, to settle at $59.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday. Oil prices are at its highest since mid-December.