The stock markets in Asia are trading modestly higher on Friday despite the negative lead overnight from Wall Street. Trading was lackluster following the release of disappointing U.S. housing data. Investors also remained cautious ahead of the the release of the Commerce Department's initial report on U.S. fourth quarter GDP later in the day.
The Japanese stock market slipped into negative territory on Friday after opening higher led by resource-linked stocks, as weaker-than-expected economic data from the U.S. and the yen's rise against the dollar weighed on investor sentiment. Investors turned cautious following weak corporate earnings results.
In late morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 4.12 points or 0.05 percent to 8,845.35. The index, which opened higher at 8851.02, is trading in a narrow, 10-point band around Thursday's close of 8,849.70.
In the automobile sector, Toyota Motor is down 0.24 percent, Honda Motor is losing 0.58 percent, Suzuki Motor is trading lower by 0.17 percent and Mazda Motor is declining 1.50 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.56 percent, Bank of Yokohama is losing 0.83 percent and Mizuho Financial is trading unchanged.
Among tech stocks, Sony Corp is losing 1.12 percent and Advantest Corp is declining 2.14 percent, while Canon is up 0.29 percent.
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. is trading higher by 0.07 percent despite the company cutting its outlook for operating profit for the fiscal year to March 2012 by 5 billion yen to 60 billion yen.
Consumer electronics maker NEC Corp. is trading lower by 7.14 percent. The company said Thursday it plans to cut 5,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce and also focus on the corporate IT business, while working to cut costs. Further, the company said that asset write-downs and sluggish trading will push it into a net loss of more than $1 billion for the 12 months through March.
Brokerage houses are trading lower after the Nikkei business daily reported that the Financial Services Agency will consider introducing tighter regulations for mutual funds. Nomura Holdings is down 1.07 percent and Daiwa Securities Group is declining 1.43 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday that retail sales in Japan were up 2.5 percent on year in December, standing at 13.049 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.1 percent following the upwardly revised 2.0 percent decline in November.
For the fourth quarter of 2011, retail sales added 0.8 percent on year to 35.003 trillion yen while large retail sales shed 1.3 percent on year to 5.333 trillion yen. For all of 2011, retail sales fell an annual 1.2 percent to 134.043 trillion yen, while large retailer sales lost 1.8 percent on year to 19.593 trillion yen.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that core consumer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on year in December, in line with forecasts following the 0.2 percent contraction in November. Overall CPI came in at -0.2 percent on year, also matching expectations after showing a 0.5 percent fall in the previous month. On month, core CPI and overall CPI were both flat.
Also, later in the day, the Bank of Japan will release the minutes from its monetary policy meeting on December 20 and 21. Following the meeting, the bank had announced it was keeping interest rates unchanged at 0.10 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 77 yen-range on Friday. In early trades, the dollar was quoted in a range of 77.34-77.36 yen, down 0.19 yen from Thursday's close of 77.53-77.55 yen in Tokyo.
The Australian stock market opened higher on Friday, led by mining stocks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates low until at least 2014. The market was closed on Thursday for the Australia Day public holiday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index, which opened higher at 4277.20, is adding 24.90 points or 0.58 percent to 4,296.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index is gaining 24.50 points or 0.57 percent to 4,353.60.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton is adding 0.94 percent and rival Rio Tinto is advancing 1.68 percent. Fortescue is gaining 3.5 percent and Newcrest Mining is up 2.62 percent.
In the energy sector, Oil Search is down 2.91 percent and Santos is losing 0.66 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is adding 1.03 percent. Among banks, Westpac is rising 0.52 percent, Commonwealth Bank is advancing 0.67 percent, ANZ is adding 0.65 percent and National Australia Bank is up 0.04 percent.
U.S.-based medical device maker ResMed Inc. reported a 2 percent decline in profit for the first half of the financial year to $113.4 million as higher revenue offset an increase in costs. However, the stock is adding 5.12 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar lost ground on Thursday after reaching its highest level in three months overnight. In early morning trades, the local unit was trading at US$1.0618, down from US$1.0636 Wednesday afternoon.
On Wall Street, stocks turned lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday as disappointing housing data offset early buying interest, Profit taking following recent strength also contributed to the downturn by the markets.
The Dow edged down 22.33 points or 0.2 percent to 12,734.63, the Nasdaq fell 13.03 points or 0.5 percent to 2,805.28 and the S&P 500 slid 7.60 points or 0.6 percent to 1,318.45.
European stocks clawed back to the upside on Thursday after seeing modest losses earlier in the week, bolstered by the Federal Reserve's signal that it will keep interest rates low through 2014.
The German DAX Index rose 1.82 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gained 1.22 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose 1.53 percent. The Swiss Market Index was up a more modest 0.28 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures closed higher on Thursday, extending gains for a second straight day mostly on a weak dollar and some mixed economic data from the U.S. Light sweet crude for March delivery rose $0.30 or 0.3 percent to settle at $99.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Among other markets in the Asian region that are open for trading, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia are trading marginally higher, while Indonesia is trading lower.
The stock markets in China and Taiwan remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Both bourses will re-open on Monday.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.