Asian stock markets exhibited mixed performances on Monday, responding to Wall Street's varied signals from last Friday. There's ongoing concern over the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve might slow the pace of interest rate cuts, especially after revised data showed an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment for October. Markets across Asia had also closed with varied outcomes on Friday.
Investor sentiment is also impacted by uncertainties regarding the forthcoming U.S. presidential election and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
While the Federal Reserve is still largely expected to cut rates by a quarter point in the coming month, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool now reflects a 24% possibility that rates may remain unchanged in December.
In Australia, the stock market is displaying modest gains on Monday, continuing the slight upward trend seen in the prior session. This follows the mixed signals from Wall Street. Notably, the S&P/ASX 200 index seeks to maintain its position above the 8,200 mark, as surging iron ore miners and technology stocks are nearly balanced out by declines in gold mining and energy stocks.
Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is up by 2.90 points or 0.04% to 8,214.20, having earlier varied between a high of 8,226.50 and a low of 8,199.70. The All Ordinaries Index is similarly up by 6.60 points or 0.08% to 8,473.90. Australian equities concluded slightly higher last Friday.
In the mining sector, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, and Rio Tinto are each rising by over 1%, whereas Mineral Resources is slightly down by 0.5%. Within the oil sector, shares largely fell. Origin Energy decreased by 0.2%, and Beach Energy dipped by over 1%, with Santos and Woodside Energy each sliding by nearly 1%.
In technology, Block, the owner of Afterpay, and WiseTech Global are up almost 1% each, whereas Xero increased by more than 2%, Appen edged up 0.3%, and Zip advanced over 6%.
Gold mining shares mostly experienced declines, with Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources both dropping nearly 2%. Resolute Mining fell by almost 1%, and Northern Star Resources by nearly 5%, whereas Newmont rose more than 3%.
Regarding major banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking each dipped by 0.3% to 0.4%, while Westpac and National Australia Bank rose slightly by 0.1% to 0.3%.
Meanwhile, Paladin Energy shares plummeted over 16% following reports of operational difficulties at the uranium company.
In the foreign exchange market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.660 on Monday.
In contrast, the Japanese stock market is witnessing a significant upswing on Monday, recovering from the previous session's losses. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index climbed 549.58 points or 1.45% to conclude the morning session at 38,463.50, well above the 39,400 level seen earlier. This boost was led by gains across sectors, particularly among prominent index players, exporters, and tech stocks.
Notably, SoftBank Group surged over 3%, and Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, gained 1.5%. Among automakers, Honda rose 3.5%, and Toyota expanded by almost 4%.
In technology, Screen Holdings increased by nearly 4%, Advantest by almost 5%, and Tokyo Electron by over 3%.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose almost 1%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial edged up between 0.1% and 0.3% each.
Most major exporters are reporting gains. Canon and Sony each rose by over 2%, Mitsubishi Electric added 1.5%, and Panasonic advanced nearly 2%.
Among the significant gainers, Chugai Pharmaceutical soared nearly 10%, Kikkoman jumped almost 6%, and Konica Minolta rose over 5%, with Lasertec and Renesas Electronics each climbing nearly 5%. Disco increased more than 4%, while Tokyo Electric Power and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha advanced by almost 4% each. Isetan Mitsukoshi, M3, and Mitsubishi Motors each gained over 3%.
Conversely, Olympus plunged almost 7%, with IHI decreasing by 4.5%, and Shin-Etsu Chemical and Japan Steel Works each declining by almost 4%. Furukawa Electric fell by 2.5%.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar is strong, moving within the higher 153-yen range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia is down by 1%, while Hong Kong and Taiwan each see declines between 0.1% and 0.3%. Meanwhile, China, South Korea, and Malaysia reflect gains ranging from 0.1% to 0.6%. Singapore remains relatively unchanged. New Zealand markets are closed due to the Labor Day holiday.
On Wall Street, the stock market exhibited mixed results on Friday, following a Thursday session that also showed varied outcomes. The tech-oriented Nasdaq continued its upward trajectory with another notable gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its losing streak to five consecutive sessions.
The Nasdaq closed up by 103.12 points, marking a 0.6% increase, settling at 18,518.61. In contrast, the Dow dropped by 259.96 points or 0.6%, finishing at 42,114.40. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 experienced a slight dip, declining by 1.74 points, which is less than one-tenth of a percent, to end at 5,808.12.
In Europe, major markets delivered a similarly mixed performance. The German DAX Index posted a minor increase of 0.1%, whereas the French CAC 40 Index dipped slightly by 0.1%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index decreased by 0.3%.
Turning to commodities, crude oil prices saw a significant rise on Friday, driven by concerns over geopolitical tensions and potential production adjustments by OPEC. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for December delivered a strong close, climbing by $1.69, or 2.3%, to reach $71.78 per barrel. Over the week, WTI crude futures recorded an overall gain of 3.8%.
