Asian stock markets are mostly in negative territory amid choppy trades on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead to the release of the U.S. Labor Department's closely-watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The monthly jobs data could have a significant impact on the outlook for whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting later this month.
Economists expect the monthly jobs report to show an increase of about 220,000 jobs in August following the addition of 215,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.3 percent.
The Australian market slipped into negative territory after opening higher following the positive lead from European markets. Banking stocks are leading the decliners.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is declining 16.40 points or 0.33 percent to 5,011.40, after opening higher and rising to 5,051.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 15.50 points or 0.31 percent to 5,033.20.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac (WBK) are down in a range of 0.2 percent to 1.2 percent.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) is advancing almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO) is adding more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is up 0.2 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is advancing 0.7 percent and Kingsgate Consolidated is up 0.8 percent.
In the oil sector, Oil Search is declining 2 percent and Santos is losing more than 1 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is adding 1.6 percent.
Shares of retailer Myer Holdings rebounded and are advancing 1.3 percent, after losing almost 20 percent in the previous session.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Friday after the European Central Bank downgraded its economic forecasts. In early trades the local unit was trading at US$0.7017, down slightly from Thursday's close of US$0.7016.
The Japanese market also declined after opening higher, as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of the crucial U.S. monthly jobs data later in the day. In addition, a slightly stronger yen weighed on exporters' stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 121.25 points or 0.67 percent to 18,061.14, after opening higher and touching a high of 18,312.13.
Information and communication, glass and ceramics, and foods stocks are among the leading decliners.
Among the major exporters, Sony (SNE) and Toshiba are losing more than 1 percent each, Panasonic is declining 1.5 percent and Canon is down 0.3 percent.
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing is lower by 0.9 percent and SoftBank is losing almost 3 percent.
In the tech sector, Fanuc is down 0.3 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent. Automaker Toyota (TM) is declining 1.3 percent and Honda (HMC) is edging up 0.01 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is down 1.7 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing 2.5 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) is declining 0.6 percent.
On the economic front, Japan will release July figures for labor cash earnings later today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 120 yen-range on Friday, down slightly from Thursday's close in Tokyo.
Elsewhere in the Asian region, Singapore is down more than 1 percent. South Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also lower. Bucking the trend, Hong Kong is marginally higher as it resumed trade after a holiday on Thursday.
The markets in China remain closed on Friday for the Victory Day holiday. They will re-open on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Thursday, as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The Dow edged up 23.88 points or 0.1 percent to 16,376.76, and the S&P 500 crept up 2.27 points or 0.1 percent to 1,951.13, while the Nasdaq fell 16.48 points or 0.4 percent to 4,733.50.
The major European markets all moved sharply higher on Thursday following dovish comments from ECB President Mario Draghi and on hints that the central bank may consider further stimulus measures. While the German DAX Index soared by 2.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 2.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.8 percent.
U.S. crude oil ended higher for a second straight session on Thursday, tracking the continued uptick in global stock markets despite the dollar strengthening, and notwithstanding the more than expected increase in the weekly crude stockpiles report from the Energy Information Administration.
Crude oil futures for October delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.50 or 1.1 percent to settle at $46.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.