Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, as traders remain concerned about the effects of the widespread Microsoft outage that hit services from airlines, banks and financial services worldwide. The deepening Sino-U.S. trade tensions, uncertainty about the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and rising concerns about the outlook for China’s growth also hurt market sentiment. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

The operations of major banks, media outlets, hospitals and airlines worldwide were affected due to the widespread outage, which was purportedly caused by an update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD).

“The underlying cause has been fixed, however, residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services. We’re conducting additional mitigations to provide relief,” Microsoft said on X.

US President Joe Biden has decided to end his reelection campaign and endorse US Vice President Kamala Harris to run against former President Donald Trump.

The Australian stock market is currently trading significantly lower on Monday, adding to the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to stay a tad above the 7,900.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 58.90 points or 0.74 percent to 7,912.70, after hitting a low of 7,902.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 60.40 points or 0.74 percent to 8,148.80. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are weak. Woodside Energy is losing more than 2 percent, Origin Energy is declining almost 1 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Zip is losing almost 2 percent. Appen is gaining more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources, Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining are losing almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining almost 2 percent. Newmont is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are losing more than 1 percent each, while Westpac is declining almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in South32 are tumbling 11 percent after the miner lowered its production guidance for alumina, Sierra Gorda payable copper equivalent and Cannington payable zinc equivalent in FY25.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, adding to the losses in the previous three sessions. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 39,300 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, with weakness across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,593.81, up 469.98 or 1.17 percent, after hitting a low of 39,555.05 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent, while Toyota is declining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing 1.5 percent, Advantest is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is down more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and are losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

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

Among other major losers, Taiyo Yuden is declining more than 4 percent, while Hitachi, Socionext, TDK and Ebara are losing almost 4 percent each. M3, IHI, Fuji Electric, Hoya and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are slipping more than 3 percent each, while SMC Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Teijin is gaining almost 4 percent and East Japan Railway is adding more than 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and South Korea are down 2.4 and 1.3 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each, while New Zealand and Indonesia are up 0.4 percent each.

On Wall Street, stock moved mostly lower during trading on Friday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 extending the steep drop seen over the two previous sessions. The narrower Dow also moved to the downside, pulling back further off the record closing high set on Wednesday.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow slumped 377.49 points or 0.9 percent to 40,287.53, the Nasdaq slid 144.28 points or 0.8 percent to 17,726.94 and the S&P 500 fell 39.59 points or 0.7 percent to 5,505.00.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell to a four-week low on Friday amid concerns about the outlook for demand from China and on renewed hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza, while a firm dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August sank $2.69 or 3.25 percent at $80.13 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 17.

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