Asian stock markets are moving sideways on Friday following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street and the slight gain in crude oil prices off ten-month lows. Mainland Chinese markets are in the limelight following news that Chinese bank regulators are conducting financial reviews of deals by overseas asset buyers.
The Australian market is advancing, led by mining stocks, despite the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street. The slight rebound in crude oil prices off ten-month lows also lifted investor sentiment.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 13.20 points or 0.23 percent to 5,719.20, off a high of 5,723.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 14.40 points or 0.25 percent to 5,756.70.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are adding more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down 0.4 percent.
Gold miners are mixed despite gold prices inching higher for a second straight session overnight. Newcrest Mining is rising 0.5 percent, while Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly weak despite a rebound in crude oil prices overnight. Woodside Petroleum is down 0.1 percent and Santos is losing 0.2 percent, while Oil Search is up 0.5 percent.
Oil Search has secured a new $600 million credit facility with a range of banks, replacing a $500 million facility due to expire in October.
Among the big banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are lower in a range of 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent, while Westpac is adding 0.6 percent.
Bega Cheese said it plans to launch a $160 million capital raising. The company's shares are in a trading halt.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar has further slipped against the U.S. dollar on Friday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7541, down from US$0.7554 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is little changed following the mixed cues from Wall Street and as crude oil prices advanced overnight from ten-month lows.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 2.97 points or 0.01 percent to 20,107.54, off a low of 20,089.54 in early trades.
The major exporters are mostly edging higher. Sony is edging up less than 0.1 percent, while Canon and Panasonic are rising 0.2 percent each. Toshiba is losing almost 2 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is down 0.4 percent, while Honda is rising 0.5 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.4 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial losing 0.5 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is down 0.6 percent, while Japan Petroleum Exploration is rising 0.5 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Taiheiyo Cement and Sumitomo Osaka Cement are rising more than 3 percent each, while Citizen Watch is gaining more than 2 percent. Among the worst performers, Nippon Suisan Kaisha and Screen Holdings are losing more than 2 percent each.
On the economic front, the latest survey from Nikkei showed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, with a seven-month low manufacturing PMI score of 52.0. That's down from 53.1 in May, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 111 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Malaysia are also modestly lower, while South Korea and Hong Kong are slightly higher. The markets in Indonesia are closed through June 28 in observance of Eid-ul-Fitr.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed for the second straight day on Thursday, with healthcare stocks giving back ground after earlier benefiting from a positive reaction to the release of the details of the Senate Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. The pullback reflected uncertainty about the future of the bill after four Republican Senators said they cannot support the plan in its current form.
While the Nasdaq inched up 2.73 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,236.69, the Dow sipped 12.74 points or 0.1 percent to 21,397.29 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.11 points or 0.1 percent to 2,434.50.
The major European markets also ended mixed on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slipped by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both crept up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures were steady Thursday, rising slightly from 10-month lows in the previous session. August WTI oil climbed $0.21 or 0.5 percent to settle at $42.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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