Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following he broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid ongoing concerns about U.S. tariffs after US President Donald Trump announced that his government will send letters to around 170 trading partners outlining new, simple unilateral tariffs that will take effect on August 1. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.

There is also concern over Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," which will add at least $3.3 trillion to the country's already-mammoth national debt and leave an added 12 million Americans without health insurance.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower in choppy trading on Monday after opening in the green, reversing the slight gains in the previous session, following he broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,600.00 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks and a mixed performance most other sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 6.90 points or 0.08 percent to 8,596.10, after touching a high of 8,617.00 and a low of 8,585.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 6.70 points or 0.08 percent to 8,835.20. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.4 percent. Rio Tinto and BHP Group are flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is surging more than 5 percent and Santos is edging up 0.1 percent, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is tumbling 5.5 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.1 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are slipping almost 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are declining almost 1 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following he broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 39,650 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,628.41, down 182.47 points or 0.46 percent, after hitting a low of 39,539.79 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is flat. Among automakers, Honda is down more than 1 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are losing almost 1 percent each, while Screen Holdings is declining almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining almost 2 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic and Canon are losing almost 1 percent each, while Sony is edging down 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent. Among the other major losers, Yaskawa Electric is tumbling almost 8 percent, SMC is aliding more than 6 percent and Fanuc is losing more than 3 percent, while Nissan Motor, Renesas Electronics and Sumitomo Electric Industries are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Ryohin Keikaku is gaining more than 4 percent and BayCurrent is adding more than 3 percent, while Recruit Holdings, Disco and Nippon Express Holdings are advancing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each, while South Korea and Singapore are up 0.1 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Indonesia is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, the markets were closed for Independence Day on Friday after closing higher on Thursday.

The major European markets closed mostly lower on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 settled flat, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.61 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday on easing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.51 or 0.76 percent to finish at $66.49 per barrel.