Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as crude oil prices continued to fall amid signs of increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict and restore energy flows in the Middle East, easing concerns over global inflation and the prospect of further interest rate hikes. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,750.00 level, with weakness in mining stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks. Most other sectors were mixed.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 8.50 points or 0.10 percent to 8,722.70, after hitting a low of 8,681.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 10.80 points or 0.12 percent to 8,911.90. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent and Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.1 percent and Zip is gaining more than 2 percent, while Xero is declining almost 4 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is edging down 0.3 percent

Gold miners are weak. Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.5 percent, Newmont is declining almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is tumbling almost 9 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are losing almost 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Perpetual Ltd. are tumbling almost 14 percent after rejecting a sweetened takeover proposal from EQT Group and confirmed the end of discussions.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are slipping almost 7 percent after announcing a merger with German company ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is closed for Respect for Aged Day on Monday. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 156 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are higher by between 0.4 and 1.4 percent each, while Malaysia and Indonesia are down 0.1 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Friday following the rally seen during Thursday's session. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day mixed.

While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the day in positive territory, the narrower Dow posted a modest loss on the day. The Nasdaq climbed 104.25 points or 0.4 percent to 26,522.55 and the S&P 500 rose 12.74 points or 0.2 percent to 7,650.50, but the Dow dipped 95.40 points or 0.2 percent to 51,682.64.

Meanwhile, the major European markets pulled back sharply on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both slumped by 1.5 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday, extending losses as investors anticipate upcoming meetings between the U.S. and gulf leaders to de-escalate Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $1.74 or 1.71 percent at $100.17 per barrel.