Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, boosted by strong gains in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea amid a rebound in semiconductor stocks following the sell-off last week. Some traders are also looking to buy stocks at a bargain following the recent weakness. Markets also keep an eye on the ongoing peace talks to end hostilities in the Middle East. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Monday after slipping in to the red in most of the morning session, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving well above the 9,000.00 mark, with gains in mining and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 18.80 points or 0.21 percent to 9,039.60, after hitting a low of 8,968.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 26.70 points or 0.29 percent to 9,171.40. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent, Mineral Resources is advancing almost 4 percent and Fortescue is up more than 2 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent and Zip is adding almost 1 percent, while Appen is edging down 0.5 percent, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent and Xero is declining more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Genesis Minerals is adding more than 3 percent, Resolute Mining is up more than 1 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Newmont is advancing almost 3 percent, while Northern Star Resources is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is declining almost 3 percent and Westpac is down more than 1 percent.

In economic news, the total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 5.1 percent on month in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 17,948. That was in line with expectations following the 5.2 percent decline in August. On a yearly basis, permits sank -0.8 percent - again matching forecasts following the 12.1 percent spike in the previous month.

Permits for private sector houses were down 5.3 percent on month and up 9.6 percent on year at 10,432. Permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses jumped 16.6 percent on month and tumbled 20.5 percent on year.

The value of residential building fell 2.8 percent to A$11.06 billion, while the value of non-residential building surged 45.9 percent to A$7.96 billion.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.690 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Monday, snapping a four-session losing streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is surging 3.4 percent to above the 59,400 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 59,411.34, up 1,976.57 points or 3.44 percent, after touching a high of 59,440.18 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining almost 5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is advancing almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 3 percent and Toyota is advancing almost 4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is jumping almost 5 percent and Screen Holdings is surging almost 5 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 4 percent, Mizuho Financial is jumping more than 5 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is surging almost 5 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric is surging almost 5 percent, Panasonic is advancing more than 3 percent, Sony is gaining almost 3 percent and Canon is adding more than 2 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Renesas Electronics is soaring more than 8 percent and Fujitsu is jumping more than 7 percent, while Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo Electric Industries, BayCurrent, Kokusai Electric and Disco are surging almost 7 percent each. Japan Steel Works, SHIFT and Sumitomo Heavy Industries are advancing more than 6 percent each. OKUMA, NEC, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Mitsui Kinzoku are gaining almost 6 percent, while Yamaha Motor is adding more than 5 percent.

Conversely, Tokyu Fudosan is tumbling more than 5 percent and Mitsui Fudosan is declining more than 4 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and South Korea are surging 6.2 and 1.8 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong and Indonesia are higher by between 0.5 and 1.0 percent each. New Zealand is bucking the trend and is down 0.4 percent. Malaysia and Singapore are closed for Deepavali.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Friday following the sell-off seen during Thursday's session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a notable rebound, although the Dow saw continued weakness.

The major averages ended the day mixed. While the Dow fell 237.33 points or 0.5 percent to 51,285.73, the S&P 500 rose 23.13 points or 0.3 percent to 7,376.86 and the Nasdaq jumped 264.43 points or 1.1 percent to 24,579.42.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed notable moves to the downside. The German DAX Index tumbled by 1.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday on continued signals of war risk after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to rule out renewing attacks on Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $0.46 or 0.51 percent at $90.98 per barrel.