Asian stock markets presented a mixed bag in slim trading on Monday. This comes even as Wall Street ended last week mostly on a positive note. Several markets in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea were closed for public holidays. Concerns over China's shaky economy and increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have undermined various markets. Asian markets concluded last Friday with mixed results.
The Australian stock market encountered a modest loss on Monday, interrupting a three-day winning streak. Nevertheless, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 maintained above the 7,600.00 mark, despite Wall Street's mostly positive reception on Friday. Weaknesses in the mining stocks were apparent, most likely due to softer commodity prices.
The critical S&P/ASX 200 Index had lost 14.60 points, a drop of 0.19%, standing at 7,630.20 after previously hitting a low of 7,609.60. The broader All Ordinaries Index had dropped 9.70 points or 0.12%, to 7,875.00. Australian stocks closed slightly higher last Friday.
Prominent miners, including Rio Tinto, BHP Group, and Mineral Resources, are witnessing losses of nearly 1%, while Fortescue Metals edges up by 0.5%. Oil stocks, on the other hand, are chiefly on the rise. Beach energy increased more than 3%, Origin Energy was slightly up by 0.3%, and Santos added approximately 1%, while Woodside Energy declined almost 2%.
Tech stock shows a positive tendency with Xero and WiseTech Global growing more than 1%, and Zip surging by over 5%. In contrast, Afterpay owner Block fell almost 3%, whereas Appen surged by more than 14% after the company stated it would further cut costs, which included closing its Toronto and Bellevue offices in North America after losing a key contract with Google.
Gold miners showed mixed results, with Evolution Mining dropping 0.3%, Newmont decreasing more than 1%, and Northern Star Resources falling almost 1%. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining, meanwhile, gained almost 1%.
Among the "big four" banks, Commonwealth Bank slightly rose by 0.3%, ANZ Banking increased by 1.5%, Westpac gained close to 1% and National Australia Bank added more than 1%.
In other news, shares in CSL plummeted almost 5% after the healthcare colossus scrapped plans to seek regulatory approval for a proposed drug due to underwhelming results in the phase-three trial.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar was trading at $0.652 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market was closed on Monday for National Foundation Day holiday. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Friday. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand was down 0.8%, while Indonesia rose 0.4%. China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Over in Wall Street, stocks mostly rose in the trading session on Friday, with technology stocks leading the surge. The significant averages maintained a recent upward trend, with the S&P 500 closing above 5,000 for the first time ever.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq posted impressive gains, shooting up 196.95 points or 1.3% to 15,990.66, and the S&P 500 also rose 28.70 points or 0.6% to 5,026.61, while the narrower Dow veered off the upward trend and edged down 54.64 points or 0.1% to 38,671.69.
In Europe, most markets experienced a slight dip on the day. The French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3%, with the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both dipping by 0.2%.
Crude oil prices overcame early weakening on Friday to end modestly higher, influenced by ongoing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.62 to $76.84 a barrel, marking a fifth consecutive session of gains. WTI crude futures jumped 6% in the week.
