Asian stock markets are mixed on Friday despite the strong gains overnight on Wall Street and higher commodity prices. Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of the closely-watched U.S. jobs data for December 2017 later in the day.
The U.S. Labor Department's report is expected to show an increase of about 190,000 jobs in December following the jump of 228,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.1 percent.
The Australian market is rising following the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street and higher commodity prices.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 28.50 points or 0.47 percent to 6,105.60, off a high of 6,114.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is advancing 28.40 points or 0.46 percent to 6,213.80.
In the mining space, Fortescue Metals is rising more than 2 percent, BHP Billiton is adding 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto is up 0.5 percent following a boost in the price of metals and iron ore.
Gold miners are also higher after gold prices rose for a tenth straight session overnight. Newcrest Mining is advancing more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining almost 3 percent.
n the banking sector, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are advancing in a range of 0.5 percent to 1 percent.
In the oil space, Santos is adding almost 1 percent, while Oil Search is declining 0.6 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.3 percent despite crude oil prices closing at a three-year high overnight.
Healthcare stocks are extending gains from the previous session following news that Australian producers will be able to export medical cannabis products. Cann Group is rising almost 3 percent, Hydroponics Co. is advancing 8 percent and Bod Australia is gaining more than 13 percent.
Billabong International has recommended that its shareholders accept a formal buyout proposal of A$1 per share from Boardriders, the owner of Quicksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes. The company's shares are rising almost 3 percent.
Bega Cheese shareholders have approved the institutional placement component of a A$160 million capital raising last year. However, the food and dairy firm's shares are losing more than 2 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia had a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit of A$628 million in November. That was well shy of forecasts for a surplus of A$550 million following the A$105 million surplus in October.
Imports were up 1.0 percent on month to A$32.48 billion in November, while exports were roughly flat at A$31.85 billion.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar surged against the U.S. dollar on Friday amid higher commodity prices. In early trades, the local unit was quoted at US$0.7866, up from US$0.7839 on Thursday.
The Japanese market opened with notable gains following the record closing highs overnight from Wall Street and on a weaker yen. However, the market has pared initial gains and is now modestly higher.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 47.25 points or 0.20 percent to 23,553.58, off a high of 23,665.28 in early trades. On Thursday, the Nikkei 225 Index jumped over 3 percent on its first trading day of the New Year.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a weaker yen. Sony is advancing almost 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are adding more than 1 percent each. Canon is down 0.6 percent and SoftBank is lower by 0.5 percent.
Toshiba's shares are advancing almost 3 percent after Canada's Brookfield Business Partners L.P., together with institutional partners, agreed to acquire the company's nuclear arm Westinghouse Electric for about $4.6 billion.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are higher by almost 2 percent each.
Among automakers, Toyota is rising almost 2 percent and Honda is adding 0.4 percent. In the oil space, Inpex is down 0.3 percent, while Japan Petroleum Exploration is advancing more than 1 percent after crude oil prices rose to a three-year high overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Casio Computer, Taiyo Yuden and Asahi Group are rising more than 3 percent each. On the flip side, J Front Retailing is losing almost 4 percent, Takashimaya is lower by more than 3 percent and Advantest is declining more than 2 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the services sector in Japan continued to expand in December, although at a marginally slower rate, with a Services PMI score of 51.1.
That's down from 51.2 in November, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Also, the composite PMI was unchanged at 52.2.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 112 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia are also higher, while Shanghai, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks once again climbed to new record closing highs on Thursday after a report from payroll processor ADP showed that private sector employment jumped by much more than expected in the month of December. ADP said employment in the private sector surged up by 250,000 jobs in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 185,000 jobs in November.
The Dow climbed 152.45 points or 0.6 percent to 25,075.13, the Nasdaq edged up 12.38 points or 0.2 percent to 7,077.91 and the S&P 500 rose 10.93 points or 0.4 percent to 2,723.99.
The major European markets also moved higher on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures closed at a three-year high on Thursday as the government confirmed another significant drop in U.S. oil inventories. WTI crude oil for February delivery rose $0.38 or 0.6 percent to settle at $62.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
by RTT Staff Writer
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