Asian Markets Mixed In Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets is trading mixed on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders remain cautious and restrained from making any significant moves after upbeat US data raised fears the US Fed will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation. Traders also picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent slump in the markets. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China lowered its one-year loans prime rate by 10 basis points to a record low of 3.45 percent, but kept the five-year loan prime rate unchanged at 4.2 percent.

The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, giving up the slight gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by weakness across most sectors, led by technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.90 points or 0.24 percent to 7,131.20, after hitting a low of 7,123.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 12.40 points or 0.17 percent to 7,353.60. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.3 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Santos is gaining more than 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Zip is declining more than 2 percent and Appen is slipping almost 2 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 1 percent each, while Newcrest Mining is down almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Westpac is losing more than 2 percent and ANZ Banking is down almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in A2 Milk are plunging more than 12 percent after the Infant formula maker downgraded its revenue guidance amid slowdown in its key China market.

Shares in Iress sank more than 26 percent on suspending its interim dividend after completion of its managed funds administration business sale.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.640 on Monday. The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 31,700 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent weakness in the market. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 31,748.88, up 298.12 or 0.95 percent, after touching a high of 31,758.70 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 1 percent and Toyota is also gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing almost 1 percent, while Advantest is edging up 0.1 percent. Tokyo Electron is flat. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are flat.

The major exporters are weak. Canon is edging down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are losing almost 1 percent each. Sony is flat.

Among other major gainers, Tokyo Electric Power is gaining almost 6 percent, Sumitomo Pharma is adding almost 4 percent and Kawasaki Heavy Industries is up more than 3 percent, while M3 and Sharp are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 145 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is down 1.3 percent, while China, Hong Kong and Singapore are lower by between 0.4 and 1.0 percent each. South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors largely staying cautious amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended the session with a gain of 25.83 points or 0.07 percent at 34,500.66. The S&P 500 ended little changed at 4,369.71, while the Nasdaq finished with a loss of 26.16 points or 0.2 percent at 13,290.78.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed notable moves to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both dropped 0.65 percent, and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.38 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending gains from the previous session after data indicated a drop in output, while a weaker dollar contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures added $0.86 or 1.1 percent to $81.25 a barrel. WTI Crude futures shed 2 percent for the week.