Most Asian stock markets are currently trading at a lower value, owing to concerns about inflation, potential timing of interest rate cuts, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle-East, specifically Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel. This decline also echoes Wall Street's negative performance on Friday.
In Australia's stock market, one sees a significant downslide. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is currently below 7,800 points. This follows a pattern of broadly negative performance from Wall Street on Friday with most sectors experiencing weakness. The sectors most affected are gold miners and technology stocks. Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is up by over 2%, BHP Group has increased by nearly 1% whereas Mineral Resources is down by over 1%. Technology stocks, in contrast, are having a rough time. Xero and WiseTech Global are dropping by almost 2%, while Appen is down by more than 7%.
In Japan's stock market, the situation is likewise unfavorable. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has significantly dropped below a 39,200 point level. Several major players in the market, including SoftBank Group and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, are experiencing decreases by more than 2% and 1%, respectively. Major exporters like Canon, Panasonic and Sony are not faring well, either, with losses ranging from 0.2% to 2%.
Despite the overall negative trend across Asian markets, China seems to be the anomaly with a positive upswing of 1.4%. Other Asian markets, including New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan, are witnessing declines ranging from 0.3 to 1.2%.
In recent economic news, Japan saw a surprising increase of 7.7% in the value of core machine orders in February, significantly surpassing the 0.8% expectation. Meanwhile, in the currency market, the Australian Dollar is trading at $0.648 this Monday, while the U.S Dollar is trading higher in the 153 yen-range.
On Friday, Wall Street saw a significant dip in stocks, influenced by geopolitical uncertainty, fears of inflation, and varying outcomes and anticipations from major banks, all leading to an overall bearish outlook.
All significant averages concluded on a negative note. The Dow concluded with a decrease of 475.84 points, or 1.24%, stopping at 37,983.24. The S&P 500 also fell by 75.65 points or 1.46%, landing at 5,123.41. The Nasdaq followed suit with a decrease of 267.10 points or 1.62%, settling at 16,175.09.
In contrast, the primary European markets showed mixed outcomes. While the UK's FTSE 100 saw an increase of 0.91%, both Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 experienced a decrease of 0.13% and 0.16% respectively.
Crude oil prices experienced a boost on Friday due to concerns about supply outlook amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May observed an increment by $0.64, concluding at $85.66 per barrel.
