Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday, reflecting weakness in technology shares after chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing forecast weaker than expected second-quarter revenues due to softer demand for high-end smartphones. In addition, weak commodity prices dragged down resource stocks.
The Australian market is declining, following the weak cues from Wall Street and a fall in commodity prices. Miners are among the leading decliners.
In late-morning trades, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 13.90 points or 0.24 percent to 5,867.10, just off a low of 5,863.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 14.90 points or 0.25 percent to 5,961.50.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton is declining 0.6 percent, Rio Tinto is down 0.3 percent and Fortescue Metals is lower by 0.4 percent, reflecting a fall in nickel and aluminium prices overnight.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is falling more than 7 percent and Newcrest Mining is down 0.4 percent after gold prices edged lower.
Meanwhile, oil stocks are adding despite a dip in crude oil prices. Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are advancing almost 1 percent each, while Santos is rising 0.4 percent.
In the banking sector, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent. Commonwealth Bank is edging down less than 0.1 percent.
AMP chief executive Craig Meller has resigned after the wealth management giant admitted to charging clients for advice they never received and then lying to the corporate watchdog about it. Shares of AMP are advancing 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday after the release of disappointing local jobs data on Thursday. The local unit was trading at US$0.7723, down from US$0.7801 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is modestly higher, reversing earlier losses. Nevertheless, tech stocks are weak after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing forecast weaker than expected second-quarter revenues.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 30.95 points or 0.14 percent to 22,222.13, after falling to a low of 22,076.63 in early trades.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 1 percent and Sony is down 0.3 percent, while Panasonic is higher by 0.2 percent and Canon is edging up less than 0.1 percent.
Shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical are losing almost 3 percent after Shire plc rejected the company's $60 billion takeover bid, citing low valuation.
Among tech stocks, Advantest is losing almost 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is lower by more than 3 percent after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's downbeat revenue outlook.
Among the major automakers, Toyota is adding 0.6 percent, while Honda is edging up less than 0.1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding 0.3 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing almost 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining 0.6 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is down more than 1 percent after crude oil prices dipped overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Shiseido Co. is rising almost 4 percent, while Mitsui OSK Lines and Dai-ichi Life are higher by more than 3 percent each.
On the flip side, Screen Holdings is falling more than 6 percent, Shin-Etsu Chemical is losing almost 4 percent, Showa Denko is down almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is lower by more than 2 percent.
In economic news, Japan will release consumer price data for March and February figures for its tertiary industry index today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 107 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Shanghai, Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia are also lower, while Hong Kong is marginally higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Thursday following a negative reaction to news from some well-known companies.
Shares of Procter & Gamble fell after the consumer products giant released its first-quarter results a day earlier than expected and said it is buying the consumer health business of Germany's Merck for about $4.2 billion. Apple also came under pressure after key Asian chip partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing forecast weaker than expected second-quarter revenues.
The Dow fell 83.18 points or 0.3 percent to 24,664.89, the Nasdaq slid 57.18 points or 0.8 percent to 7,238.06 and the S&P 500 dropped 15.51 points or 0.6 percent to 2,693.13.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures pulled back Thursday after hitting multi-year highs, even as OPEC bragged that the global oil glut is all but gone. May WTI oil dipped $0.18 or about 0.3 percent to close at $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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