Asian Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with South Korean markets falling sharply due to worsening investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector on growing concerns over the AI industry in the U.S.

Markets elsewhere finished mostly higher, with a holiday in Japan keeping regional trading volumes light.

The U.S. dollar held steady near its strongest level in a year and a half ahead of the release of reports on U.S. consumer and producer price inflation this week, which could impact expectations for the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates an 82.8 percent chance the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged after last month's quarter point rate hike.

However, the central bank is still widely expected to raise rates by another quarter point at its December meeting.

Gold edged down slightly to trade below $4,200 an ounce after rising to a one-week high on Friday.

Brent crude futures were little changed above $104 a barrel, recouping some early losses in the wake of fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia's aviation infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants and a drone strike on a tanker near the Sohar anchorage off Oman.

After the deadly airport strike, U.S. President Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Houthis in Yemen.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.43 percent to 3,797.24 despite China's top securities regulator signaling fresh support for the domestic A-share market at a meeting in Beijing on Saturday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up 0.25 percent to 24,271.20, led by technology names such as Alibaba Group Holding and NetEase.

Seoul stocks ended lower for a fourth consecutive session due to persistent selling by foreign investors amid renewed concerns about an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble.

The Kospi index plummeted 3.65 percent to 6,384.24, marking the biggest single-day percentage decline since Sept.2.

Samsung Electronics slumped 4.4 percent and SK Hynix lost 4.5 percent after Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT reported "key progress" on a next-generation DRAM architecture.

Australian markets rose notably, with banks and miners leading gains ahead of the start of the third-quarter U.S. earnings season.

Investor sentiment was also boosted after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to an "energy ceasefire" and will halt attacks on each other's energy facilities.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.76 percent to 8,783.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.67 percent higher at 8,937.

Cobre soared 4.8 percent after announcing it has exercised its Control Call Option over the Sierra Atacama Copper Project. Telstra fell 2.5 percent, extending losses from last week ahead of its AGM on Tuesday.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.57 percent to 13,827.62, extending gains for a third consecutive session and reaching its highest level since September 30.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday to close a record-setting week after the announcement of major deals in the technology and communications sectors.

Investors monitored developments in energy markets after President Trump announced a deal to obtain diesel from Russia to lower fuel prices and blamed Ukraine for war and energy crisis in a sharp reversal of U.S. policy ahead of the midterm elections.

It was stated that Russian supplies would begin with over 300,000 tons immediately, followed by additional quantities throughout November.

Investors shrugged off the results of a survey, which showed sentiment among U.S. consumers deteriorated for a third straight month in October as a result of rising cost of living because of the Middle East conflict.

While the Dow rose 0.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both gained around 0.6 percent.