Australian Market Little Changed

The Australian stock market is little changed on Friday following the mixed cues from Wall Street after yields on U.S. Treasury notes declined. Worries about a prolonged U.S.-China trade war also weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is edging up 0.80 points or 0.01 percent to 6,408.90, after falling to a low of 6,404.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 1.70 points or 0.03 percent to 6,492.50. Australian stocks plunged on Thursday.

The major miners are mostly lower. Rio Tinto is declining 0.7 percent and Fortescue Metals is lower by 0.5 percent, while BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are weak after crude oil prices extended losses overnight. Oil Search is losing more than 2 percent, Santos is lower by 0.7 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.4 percent.

The big four banks are mixed. ANZ Banking is declining 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is down 0.1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.1 percent.

Gold miners are also mixed, even as gold prices rose overnight. Evolution Mining is lower by 0.4 percent, while Newcrest Mining is rising 0.2 percent.

Newcrest Mining reported a 22 percent increase in full-year profit on higher revenues and raised its final dividend.

Telstra has sold its 49 percent stake in a newly established property trust to a consortium led by Charter Hall for A$700 million, but will retain a 51 percent controlling stake in the trust. The telecom giant's shares are declining 0.7 percent.

Seven West Media's chief executive Tim Worner has resigned with immediate effect and has been replaced by James Warburton as CEO and managing director. Shares of the company are rising more than 4 percent.

Cochlear reported a 13 percent increase in full-year profit and raised its dividend. Hearing implant maker's shares are gaining almost 4 percent.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6775, compared to $0.6783 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Thursday in choppy trading as traders digested an avalanche of U.S. economic data, including mixed reports on retail sales and industrial production. The Commerce Department released a report showing U.S. retail sales climbed by much more than expected in July, while the Federal Reserve released a separate report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in industrial production in July.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 7.32 points or 0.1 percent to 7,766.62, the Dow climbed 99.97 points or 0.4 percent to 25,579.39 and the S&P 500 rose 7.00 points or 0.3 percent to 2,847.60.

The major European markets all moved to the downside on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices saw further downside on Thursday, extending losses from the previous day on continued concerns about the outlook for global demand. West Texas Intermediate fell $0.48 or 0.87 percent to $54.47.