Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders remain cautious and remained reluctant to pick up stocks amid a lack of significant triggers. The US dollar also strengthened against major currencies in the region, with the Japanese yen falling to 34-year lows. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

The Australian stock market is currently trading significantly lower on Monday, giving up the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,800.00 level, with weakness in mining and energy stocks partially offset by gains in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 54.70 points or 0.70 percent to 7,741.30, after hitting a low of 7,736.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 58.20 points or 0.72 percent to 7,981.70. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is losing more than 1 percent. Mineral Resources are adding more than 1 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing more than 1 percent, Santos is down almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is declining more than 2 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent and Zip is adding 1.5 percent, while Afterpay owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.4 percent each. Appen is declining more than 4 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Gold Road Resources is losing more than 3 percent, Evolution Mining is declining almost 4 percent, Northern Star Resources is down 1.5 percent and Newmont slipping more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Bankingis edging down 0.3 percent.

In other news, shares in Cettire are plummeting 40 percent as the online luxury fashion retailer continues to be hit by a downturn in the online luxury industry in the fourth quarter.

Shares in Myer are soaring 17 percent after the upscale department store chain announced that it was exploring a merger with Premier Investment's apparel business, which includes Just Jeans and Jay Jays.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.663 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving to near the 38,700 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street cues on Friday, with some gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,689.22, up 92.75 or 0.24 percent, after hitting a low of 38,416.07 and a high of 38,773.40 earlier. Japanese shares ended marginally lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 1.5 percent and Toyota is adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Advantest are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

The major exporters are higher. Canon, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, NHI Foods is gaining almost 5 percent.

Conversely, Mercari is losing more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Renesas Electronics and Isetan Mitsukoshi are declining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are down 1.1 to 1.5 percent each, while Zealand, South Korea and Singapore are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.2 percent. Malaysia is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stock showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday following the mixed performance seen in the previous sessions. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Dow inched up 15.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 39,150.33, the Nasdaq dipped 32.23 points or 0.2 percent to 17,689.36 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.55 points or 0.2 percent to 5,464.62.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index declined by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Friday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for global oil demand and a firm greenback. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July shed $0.56 or 0.7 percent at $80.73 a barrel for the week but gained 3 percent for the week.