Asian equity markets are trading predominantly higher on Monday, gaining momentum from the favorable signals from Wall Street on Friday. However, traders remain cautious due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, uncertainties surrounding the US election outcomes, and the anticipated Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later this week. Most Asian markets concluded Friday on a downward trend.
In the meantime, weaker than anticipated US job growth data for October has renewed optimism regarding interest rates.
In Australia, the stock market is showing a robust recovery on Monday, bouncing back from losses sustained over the past three sessions, spurred by Wall Street's positive end to the week. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is comfortably above the 8,100.00 mark, bolstered by gains in financial and energy sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is up 42.10 points or 0.52 percent at 8,160.90, having reached a session high of 8,162.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index has increased by 39.40 points or 0.47 percent to 8,419.10. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.
Among major mining companies, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are experiencing slight declines of 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto is down more than 1 percent, and Mineral Resources is plummeting over 8 percent following news that Managing Director Chris Ellison will resign after allegations of personal misuse of company assets.
Oil stocks are generally on the rise, with Origin Energy gaining over 1 percent, while Beach Energy and Santos are slightly up by 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. On the contrary, Woodside Energy is down nearly 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Block, the owner of Afterpay, is experiencing a 1.5 percent drop, Zip is slightly down by 0.3 percent, and Appen has fallen almost 2 percent. However, Xero has risen by more than 1 percent, and WiseTech Global has increased by nearly 2 percent.
Gold mining stocks present a mixed picture: Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are each down almost 1 percent, whereas Northern Star Resources, Newmont, and Resolute Mining are up by 0.1 to 0.4 percent.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank is seeing a 0.3 percent increase, National Australia Bank is up nearly 1 percent, ANZ Banking is slightly down by 0.1 percent, and Westpac is steady.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.660 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is closed for the Culture Day holiday on Monday, following a significant drop on Friday.
In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar is trading at the upper end of the 151 yen range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea has risen by 1.4 percent, and other markets such as New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan are registering gains of 0.3 to 0.5 percent. However, Indonesia is an outlier, declining by 0.6 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks staged a strong recovery in early trading on Friday, following Thursday's downturn. Though the major indexes relinquished some gains during the day, they ended firmly in positive territory.
The tech-focused Nasdaq led the upward movement, climbing 144.77 points or 0.8 percent to 18,239.92 after a sharp decline in previous sessions. The Dow advanced by 288.73 points or 0.7 percent to 42,052.19, recovering from its lowest closing in over a month. The S&P 500 increased by 23.35 points or 0.4 percent to 5,728.80.
European markets also moved higher on the day, with Germany's DAX Index advancing by 0.9 percent, and the UK's FTSE 100 Index alongside the French CAC 40 Index each rising by 0.8 percent.
Crude oil prices increased on Thursday, driven by expectations of rising demand in the US and a possible postponement of OPEC's planned production increase scheduled for December. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up by $0.65 or 0.95 percent, reaching $69.26 a barrel.
