Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets trading mostly lower on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid rising worries about the economic impact of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the various sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and the Western allies. There is also rising prospect of tighter monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve to rein in inflation. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

The U.S. President Joe Biden called to downgrade Russia’s “most favored nation” status as a trading partner. Data showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of March to ten-year lows weighed as well on the market.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly stated that “certain positive shifts” have occurred in the talks between the Kremlin and Ukraine, a ceasefire has not been negotiated. According to reports, Russia has widened its attacks to more Ukrainian cities.

The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with gains in financial stocks partially offset by weakness in technology and commodity stocks.

Traders continue to monitor the lingering geopolitical situation amid the continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the related sanctions on Russia.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 84.20 points or 1.19 percent to 7,147.80, after touching a high of 7,149.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 82.00 points or 1.12 percent to 7,421.30. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are flat, while Fortescue Metals is adding 1.5 percent, OZ Minerals is edging up 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed, with Beach energy gaining more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is advancing almost 1 percent, while Santos is edging down 0.4 percent and Woodside Petroleum is losing almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is edging down 0.3 percent, Block is slipping almost 3 percent and Xero is losing almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent and Zip is sliding more than 3 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources and Newcrest Mining are losing almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is adding 1.5 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 2 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank is adding 1.5 percent and Westpac is up more than 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Virtus Health are surging almost 8 percent after the IVF operator agreed to be bought by UK-based private equity firm CapVest at $8.25 per share after a lengthy takeover battle.

Shares in agribusiness giant Elders are soaring more than 11 percent told shareholders it expects underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the 2022 financial year to be 20 to 30 percent higher than 2021, boosted by excellent weather conditions.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.725 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 25,300 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with gains across most sectors as traders indulged in bargain hunting following the recent sell-offs amid lingering geopolitical concerns on the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 25,337.39, up 174.61 points or 0.69 percent, after touching a high of 25,631.01 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding more than 1 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is adding more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 2 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 3 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher, with Panasonic and Canon adding almost 2 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent. Sony is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Yokogawa Electric and Mitsui E&S Holdings are surging more than 7 percent each, while Toho Zinc and JGC Holdings are gaining more than 6 percent each. J. Front Retailing is adding more than 5 percent and Mitsui Fudosan is up almost 5 percent, while Nisshin Seifun Group, Showa Denko, Mazda Motor and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are advancing more than 4 percent each. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Tokyu Fudosan Holdings, NTN, Toyota Tsusho and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, Osaka Gas is losing more than 5 percent and Obayashi is down more than 3 percent, while Tokyo Gas, Shionogi & Co. and Meiji Holdings are declining more than 2 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 117 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is plunging 3.2 percent, while China and South Korea are losing 1 percent each. New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia are down 0.6 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.6 percent. Taiwan is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks pared gains after opening on a strong note and slipped deeper into the red to eventually close on a very weak note on Friday, with technology stocks suffering sharp losses. The major averages all ended notably lower.

The Dow, which climbed to 33,515.61 in early trades, ended with a loss of 229.88 points or 0.69 percent at 32,944.19. The S&P 500 settled lower by 55.21 points or 1.3 percent at 4,204.31, well off the day’s high of 4,291.01, and the Nasdaq ended down by 286.15 points or 2.18 percent at 12,843.81.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed significant moves to the upside on the day. The German DAX surged up 1.38 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.85 percent. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.95 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday on concerns about disruptions in supply amid uncertainty about any meaningful progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $3.31 or 3.1 percent at $109.33 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 5.5 percent in the week.