Asian stock markets mostly advanced on Monday, buoyed by the broadly positive sentiment from global markets on Friday. Investors remain cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later in the week, though markets continued to rebound from a recent sell-off driven by fears of a potential recession in the world's largest economy.
In Australia, the stock market showed notable gains on Monday, building on the momentum from the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose above the 7,800.00 level, driven by strong performances in technology and financial sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 45.90 points, or 0.59%, to 7,823.60, after hitting a high of 7,836.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index increased by 45.80 points, or 0.57%, to 8,036.50. Australian equities closed sharply higher on Friday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group saw slight declines between 0.2% and 0.5%, while Mineral Resources dropped more than 1%. Fortescue Metals edged up by 0.2%. In the oil sector, Santos and Woodside Energy gained 0.5% each, and Origin Energy rose nearly 1%. Beach Energy tumbled over 8% following a significant downgrade at its new Enterprise gas field in southeast Australia.
Tech stocks experienced upward momentum, with Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global each advancing over 1%. Appen gained 1.5%, Xero added nearly 2%, and Zip rose more than 2%.
Gold mining stocks were mostly higher; Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining each gained almost 1%, Resolute Mining edged up by 0.3%, and Northern Star Resources climbed over 1%. Newmont slipped by 0.1%.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank gained almost 1%, while Westpac, National Australia Bank, and ANZ Banking each added over 1%.
Noteworthy, JB Hi-Fi shares jumped nearly 10% after the electronics retailer reported strong annual results and announced a special dividend. The company also revealed its acquisition of the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom products businesses of E & S Trading Co. Aurizon shares, however, fell more than 6%, despite the rail haulage group's announcement of a $150 million share buyback and a 25% increase in annual net profit.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.659 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market was closed for the Mountain Day holiday on Monday, after ending decidedly higher on Friday. The U.S. dollar traded in the higher 146 yen range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Taiwan and South Korea rose by 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively. New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia each saw increases ranging from 0.1% to 0.6%. In contrast, Indonesia declined by 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively, while China remained relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks produced a relatively tepid performance on Friday but closed mostly higher, extending Thursday's rally. The Dow inched up by 51.05 points, or 0.1%, to 39,497.54. The Nasdaq climbed 85.28 points, or 0.5%, to 16,745.30, and the S&P 500 rose 24.85 points, or 0.5%, to 5,344.16.
Major European markets also moved higher on Friday: the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and France's CAC 40 Index each gained 0.3%.
Crude oil prices increased on Friday, driven by optimism regarding demand following encouraging labor market data and a substantial drop in crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September rose by $0.65, or about 0.85%, to $76.84 a barrel.
