Asian Markets Fall In Holiday-thinned Trade

[Sergey Golubev]

Asian Markets Fall In Holiday-thinned Trade

Most of the Asian stock markets are closed on Friday for the Labor Day holiday. Among the markets that are open, the Japanese and Australian markets are sharply lower following the negative cues from Wall Street as disappointing U.S. economic data highlighted the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Weak earnings results from e-commerce giant Amazon further dampened sentiment.

The Australian market is sharply lower, with stocks falling across the board, following the weak cues from Wall Street. Data showing that Australian manufacturing contracted at its worst pace since April 2009 also weighed on the market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 179.10 points or 3.24 percent to 5,343.30, after touching a low of 5,338.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 179.30 points or 3.20 percent to 5,418.40. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Thursday.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is declining more than 4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are lower by more than 3 percent each and Westpac is down almost 3 percent.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is falling more than 6 percent and Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent after gold prices further extended losses overnight.

ResMed reported a 55 percent surge in profit for the third quarter from last year, while revenue grew 16 percent as the company ramped up production of ventilators for COVID-19 victims. The respiratory health company's shares are gaining more than 5 percent.

In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the manufacturing sector in Australia fell deep into contraction in April, with a manufacturing PMI score of 35.8. That's down sharply from 53.7 in March and it moves well beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction as it reflects the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Japanese market is notably lower. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 372.52 points or 1.84 percent to 19,821.17, after falling to a low of 19,815.95 earlier.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining almost 1 percent and Fast Retailing is lower by more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are lower despite a weaker yen. Panasonic is losing more than 3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is lower by almost 3 percent, while Sony and Canon are declining almost 2 percent each.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is falling more than 4 percent and Advantest is losing more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is lower by almost 4 percent and Toyota is down almost 2 percent.

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