Asian Markets Mostly Higher Ahead Of Yellen Speech

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday, shrugging off the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. However, gains are modest in most markets as investors waited for clues about the next U.S. interest rate hike from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech later in the day.

The Australian market is higher for a third straight day despite the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and a slight pullback in the price of crude oil. Banking stocks are among the leading gainers, while mining and oil stocks are mixed.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 26.20 points or 0.49 percent to 5,414.30, off a high of 5,419.60. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 25.80 points or 0.47 percent to 5,477.70.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Bank is adding 1.2 percent, National Australia Bank is up 0.2 percent, Commonwealth Bank is advancing 0.3 percent and Westpac is higher by 0.4 percent.

Bank of Queensland said its non-executive director Neil Berkett has resigned, but gave no reasons for his resignation. Shares of the company are down 0.2 percent.

In the mining sector, BHP Billiton is adding 0.3 percent and Fortescue Metals is rising 0.4 percent, while Rio Tinto is declining almost 1 percent after iron ore prices fell overnight.

Gold miner Newcrest Mining is declining 0.8 percent and Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent after gold prices pared early gains and edged lower overnight.

In the oil space, Oil Search is adding 0.3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is higher by 0.2 percent, while Santos is declining 0.7 percent.

Seven West Media said it is in talks to acquire Perth's Sunday Times newspaper and the Perth Now website from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Seven West Media's shares are gaining almost 3 percent, while News Corp shares are declining 0.4 percent.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday amid pessimism about a U.S. interest rate hike in June. In early trades, the Australian dollar was trading at US$0.7224, up from US$0.7195 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is advancing amid speculation that the Japanese government will delay a planned consumption-tax hike.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 77.82 points or 0.46 percent to 16,850.28, off a high of 16901.09 earlier.

Exporters are mixed despite a stronger yen. Toshiba is gaining almost 9 percent after a rating upgrade, Sharp is rising almost 3 percent and Canon is adding 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, Panasonic is losing 1 percent and Sony is declining 0.3 percent. Market heavyweight Fast Retailing is down 0.5 percent.

Among the major automakers, Toyota is declining 0.3 percent and Honda is lower by 0.4 percent.

Shares of Takata Corp are down more than 4 percent following media reports that the troubled airbag maker is in talks with potential buyers, including private equity firm KKR & Co.

In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up 0.3 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is gaining 3 percent and JX Holdings is adding 0.5 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Konami Holdings is rising almost 4 percent and Sumitomo Electric is advancing more than 3 percent. Meanwhile, Tosoh Corp. and Hitachi Construction Machinery are losing more than 3 percent each.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that consumer prices in Japan fell 0.3 percent on year in April. That beat forecasts for -0.4 percent, although it weakened from -0.1 percent in March.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, also dipped 0.3 percent. That was unchanged from the previous reading and it beat forecasts for -0.4 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 109 yen-level on Friday, down from Thursday's close in the lower 110 yen level in Tokyo.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also up with modest gains. Shanghai and Hong Kong are marginally lower.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction and ended on opposite sides of the unchanged line on Thursday. The choppy trading came as traders digested the latest batch of U.S. economic data, which added to recent uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

While the Nasdaq inched up 6.88 points or 0.1 percent to 4,901.77, the Dow slipped 23.22 points or 0.1 percent to 17,828.29, and the S&P 500 edged down 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,090.10.

The major European markets moved to the upside on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil briefly jumped above $50 for the first time since October 2015 before settling below that mark on Thursday. WTI oil for July delivery edged down $0.08 to $49.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after touching a high of $50.21 earlier.