Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Monday, despite the positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid surging crude oil prices after the critical East-West pipeline was shut by Saudi Arabia following drone attacks and talks between Iran and the GCC about a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz were postponed. The pipeline provided an alternative route around the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

Hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation also reinforced the case for higher rates. Markets are currently pricing in an 86% probability that the US Fed will raise its policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, with another rate hike expected later this year.

The Australian stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Monday, snapping a four-session losing streak, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving up to near the 8,750.00 level, with gains in energy, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 7.30 points or 0.08 percent to 8,748.50, after hitting a low of 8,734.00 and a high of 8,768.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 7.00 points or 0.08 percent to 8,927.20. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue is edging up 0.4 percent, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is edging down 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are adding almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy and Santos are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Xero is gaining almost 3 percent. Zip is edging down 0.2 percent. Appen is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Genesis Minerals is adding almost 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are gaining more than 1 percent each. Evolution Mining is losing almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in FleetPartners are soaring almost 10 percent after granting SG Fleet, ORIX, and the Sumitomo Consortium access to a deeper phase of due diligence to refine their takeover offers.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.715 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 63,500 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 63,498.61, down 512.73 points or 0.80 percent, after hitting a low of 62,726.18 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling almost 12 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging up 0.4 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 5 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is losing more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent, Canon is adding almost 2 percent and Sony is advancing more than 4 percent, while Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Resonac Holdings is plunging almost 9 percent, while Kioxia Holdings and Taiyo Yuden are tumbling almost 8 percent each. Ibiden is sliding almost 7 percent, Furukawa Electric is slipping almost 6 percent, while Murata Manufacturing, Mitsui Kinzoku, Fujikura and Sumco are declining almost 5 percent each. Chubu Electric Power, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Disco are losing almost 4 percent each, while Denka is down more than 3 percent.

Conversely, NEC is soaring more than 7 percent, while Nomura Research Institute and Fujitsu are jumping more than 6 percent each. Recruit Holdings is surging almost 6 percent and SHIFT is advancing almost 5 percent, while BayCurrent, Konami Group, Japan Steel Works and Trend Micro are gaining more than 4 percent each. BANDAI NAMCO is adding almost 4 percent, while Nitori Holdings, M3, Oriental Land and West Japan Railway are up more than 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 153 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Indonesia are down 2.2 and 1.2 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the trading day on Friday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The major averages all showed significant moves to the upside, regaining ground following the recent downward trend.

The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Dow shot up 509.19 points or 1 percent to 52,573.29, the Nasdaq jumped 251.31 points or 1 percent to 26,333.04 and the S&P 500 advanced 65.28 points or 0.9 percent to 7,656.98.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday amid hopes of a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on reports of a possible meeting between Iran and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to defuse the gulf crisis. West Texas Intermediate Crude for October delivery was down $2.63 or 2.57 percent at $99.85 per barrel.