Asian Markets A Sea Of Red

Asian stock markets are a sea of red on Monday, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders remain cautious after data showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. producer prices in July triggered some speculation the US Fed will likely decide to keep interest rates higher for longer duration. The strength of the US dollar against major Asian currencies is also weighing on the market. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

A separate report released by the University of Michigan also showed a slight pullback in US consumer sentiment in August.

The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,300 level, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by weakness in miners, technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 60.90 points or 0.83 percent to 7,279.20, after hitting a low of 7,274.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 58.70 points or 0.78 percent to 7,495.50. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent. Beach energy is sliding almost 5 percent after reporting a 24 percent drop in annual net profit.

Among tech stocks, Xero and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block and Zip are declining almost 2 percent each. Appen is gaining almost 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly mixed. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Carsales.com surged almost 5 percent climbed after its annual profit tripled from last year following acquisitions of US-based Trader Interactive and Brazil’s Webmotors.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.646 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Monday, giving up the slight gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 32,200 mark, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by weakness across most sectors, led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,160.30, down 313.35 or 0.96 percent, after hitting a low of 32,157.80 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Thursday prior to the holiday on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down 1.5 percent, while Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing almost 2 percent and Advantest is declining more than 3 percent. Tokyo Electron is flat.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.2 percent.

The major exporters are weak. Canon and Panasonic are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.3 percent and Sony is declining more than 2 percent.

Among other major losers, Mitsui E&S is plunging almost 10 percent, Credit Saison is losing more than 5 percent and Pacific Metals is declining almost 4 percent, while Secom and Inpex are down more than 3 percent. Ricoh, Minebea Mitsumi, Amada and Kubota are slipping almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nippon Sheet Glass is skyrocketing almost 14 percent, NGK Insulators is soaring almost 10 percent, Sharp is surging more than 9 percent and Fujikura is rising almost 9 percent, while Recruit Holdings and Oji Holdings are gaining more than 5 percent each. CyberAgent is adding almost 5 percent and Sapporo Holdings is up more than 4 percent, while Nissan Chemical and Keio are advancing more than 3 percent each. BANDAI NAMCO and Rakuten Group are up almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are down 2.3 to 1.4 percent each, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 1.0 percent each.

On Wall Street, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday following the release of slightly more than expected producer price inflation data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 93.14 points or 0.6 percent to 13,644.85, ending the session at its lowest closing level in well over a month. The S&P also edged down 4.78 points or 0.1 percent to a one-month closing low of 4,464.05, while the narrower Dow rose 105.25 points or 0.3 percent to 35,281.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed notable moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.0 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Friday after a report from the International Energy Agency forecast strong demand for oil and tightening supplies in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.37 at $83.19 a barrel.