Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid easing concerns about an imminent interest-rate hike by the US Fed after reported showed an unexpectedly modest decrease in U.S. employment in the month of July. Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over the timing of the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.

Iran and Oman remain short of a final deal as Tehran demanded major concessions before reopening the critical waterway.

Tehran stressed that the U.S. must meet a number of conditions - including compensation, the lifting of sanctions, and an end to military threats - before access to the strategic waterway is restored.

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled patience and suggested that he's prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount rather than escalate militarily.

Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Houthi forces have attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery, two days after the kingdom signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan.

The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 9,250.00 level, with weakness in energy and financial partially offset by gains in mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 44.30 points or 0.48 percent to 9,219.30, after hitting a low of 9,235.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 34.50 points or 0.37 percent to 9,410.60. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue is edging up 0.3 percent, Mineral Resources is advancing almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent and BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Origin Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.2 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 2 percent and Appen is losing almost 1 percent. WiseTech Global and Xero are advancing almost 2 percent each, while Zip is edging up 0.4 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Resolute Mining is surging more than 1 percent, Newmont is advancing more than 4 percent, Genesis Minerals is up more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding almost 2 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent and Westpac is declining almost 5 percent, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 2 percent each. In other news, shares in FleetPartners are jumping almost 11 percent after the vehicle leasing company rejected a $3.60 per share takeover bid at from SG Fleet, and reported that it had received a $3.80 offer over the weekend from Element Fleet Management.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Monday, reversing some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is surging 2 percent to well above the 66,900 level, with gains in exporters and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in index heavyweights, automakers and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 66,931.48, up 1,324.77 points or 2.02 percent, after touching a high of 67,006.84 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down more than 1 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is advancing more than 4 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is up almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are all losing more than 2 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent, Canon is down almost 1 percent, Panasonic is advancing almost 2 percent and Sony is adding almost 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Recruit Holdings is skyrocketing almost 23 percent and Nippon Express is soaring almost 9 percent, while Nitori Holdings and Olympus are jumping more than 7 percent. Terumo, Ibiden, Fujikura and Dai Nippon Printing are surging more than 6 percent each. UBE, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Tokai Carbon and Yamaha Motor are advancing almost 6 percent each, while Disco is gaining more than 5 percent, Nitori Holdings is adding more than 4 percent and Taiyo Yuden is up almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Mitsui Kinzoku is plummeting more than 19 percent, CyberAgent is plunging more than 15 percent, Secaom is tumbling more than 7 percent and KDDI is sliding almost 6 percent, while ENEOS Holdings and Fukuoka Financial are slipping almost 5 percent each. Dai-ichi Life Group and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are declining more than 4 percent each, while Nichirei is losing almost 4 percent. Japan Post Holdings and Kajima are down more than 3 percent each, while Mitsui Fudosan, T&D Holdings and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are falling almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan posted a current account deficit of 92.3 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. That missed expectations for a surplus of 1.512 trillion yen following the 3.968 trillion yen surplus in May.

Exports were up 16.3 percent on year to 10.480 trillion yen, while imports jumped an annual 24.3 percent to 10.615 trillion yen for a trade deficit of 135.2 billion yen. The capital account saw a deficit of 463 billion yen, while the financial account had a surplus of 1.521 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 2.1 percent, while New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is down 0.1 percent. Singapore is closed for National Day.

On Wall Street, stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, largely offsetting the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages have all moved back to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 290.73 points or 1.1 percent at 26,639.08, the S&P 500 is up 43.52 points or 0.6 percent at 7,753.48 and the Dow is up 139.50 points or 0.3 percent at 54,024.60.

The major European markets have also all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices advanced on Friday amid lingering uncertainty in the Middle East following attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a military camp in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $0.81 or 1.1 percent at $78.10 a barrel.