CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid lingering concerns the US Fed will lower interest rates slower than previously anticipated after revised data showed US consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved in the month of October. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.
The uncertainty about the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are weighing on market sentiment.
The Fed is still widely expected to lower rates by a quarter point next month, but CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 24.0 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged in December.
The Australian stock market is currently trading slightly higher on Monday, extending the slight gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving up to stay above the 8,200.00 level, with gains in iron ore miners and technology stocks were nearly offset by weakness in gold miners and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 2.90 points or 0.04 percent to 8,214.20, after touching a high of 8,226.50 and a low of 8,199.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 6.60 points or 0.08 percent to 8,473.90. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging down 0.5 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent and Beach energy is declining more than 1 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are losing almost 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Xero is adding more than 2 percent, Appen is edging up 0.3 percent and Zip is advancing more than 6 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are losing almost 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is declining almost 5 percent. Newmont is gaining more than 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.
In other news, shares in Paladin Energy are tumbling more than 16 percent after the uranium company reported operational challenges.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.660 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Monday, reversing the losses in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 39,400 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, with gains across all sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,463.50, up 549.58 or 1.45 percent, after touching a high of 38,658.74 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding 1.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 3.5 percent and Toyota is adding almost 4 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 4 percent, Advantest is advancing almost 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding more than 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon and Sony are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding 1.5 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 2 percent.
Among other major gainers, Chugai Pharmaceutical is soaring almost 10 percent, Kikkoman is surging almost 6 percent and Konica Minolta is adding more than 5 percent, while Lasertec and Renesas Electronics are advancing almost 5 percent each. Disco is rising more than 4 percent, while Tokyo Electric Power and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are up almost 4 percent each. Isetan Mitsukoshi, M3 and Mitsubishi Motors are gaining more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Olympus is plunging almost 7 percent and IHI is losing 4.5 percent, while Shin-Etsu Chemical and Japan Steel Works are losing almost 4 percent each. Furukawa Electric is down 2.5 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 153 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia is down 1.0 percent, while Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each. China, South Korea and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. Singapore is relatively flat. New Zealand is closed for Labor Day holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in another mixed performance during trading on Friday after ending Thursday's session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq added to yesterday's strong gain, the Dow extended its losing streak to five sessions.
The Nasdaq ended the day up 103.12 points or 0.6 percent at 18,518.61, while the Dow slid 259.96 points or 0.6 percent to 42,114.40 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.74 points or less than tenth of a percent to 5,808.12.
The major European markets also ended the day narrowly mixed. While the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid worries about geopolitical tensions and for potential output adjustments from OPEC. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $71.78 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 3.8 percent in the week.
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