Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid rising concerns about the uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff plans. Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement reached last month. Trump has also announced that import tariffs on steel and aluminum will double to 50 percent starting June 4, in what he called a move to protect domestic industry. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is staying below the 8,450.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by in iron ore miners and technology stocks. Gold miners are the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 10.10 points or 0.12 percent to 8,424.60, after hitting a low of 8,401.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 11.70 points or 0.14 percent to 8,648.60. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is declining more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is tumbling more than 7 percent and Fortescue Metals is down almost 3 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are losing almost 3 percent each, while Appen is sliding more than 6 percent and WiseTech Global is down more than 1 percent. Xero is gaining more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.3 percent and Newmont and are adding almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is losing more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are down almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is losing almost 2 percent. Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.1 percent.

In other news, shares in Soul Patts are leaping almost 12 percent and shares in Brickworks are skyrocketing almost 22 percent after the two blue chip companies announced a $14 billion merger to form ASX-listed investments, private capital, property and building products giant.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.0. That's down from 51.7 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

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

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 37,450 level, with weakness across all sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,414.02, down 551.08 points or 1.45 percent, after hitting a low of 37,401.15 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 2.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down almost 2 percent and Toyota is losing more than 2 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are down almost 1 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent, Sony is edging down 0.4 percent and Canon is declining more than 2 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is flat.

Among the other major losers, Nikon, Minebea Mitsumi, Socionext and Resonac Holdings are losing more than 3 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing, Sharp, Recruit Holdings, Taiyo Yuden, Otsuka Holdings, Bridgestone, Mazda Motor, DeNA and Yaskawa Electric are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is surging more than 7 percent, Fujitsu is gaining more than 4 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development is adding almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.4. That's up from 48.7 in April, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-143 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 2.4 percent, while Indonesia and and Taiwan are lower by 1.3 percent each. Singapore is down 0.3 percent. South Korea is bucking the trend and is up 0.3 percent. New Zealand is closed for Queen's Birthday, Malaysia is closed for Agong's Birthday and China is closed for Dragon Boat Festival.

On Wall Street, stocks shook off a sluggish start on Friday, with the major U.S. markets posting a mild recovery to finish mixed and little changed. The early selling pressure on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement reached last month.

The Dow rose 54.34 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 42,270.07, while the NASDAQ slipped 62.11 points or 0.32 percent to close at 19,113.77 and the S&P 500 eased 0.48 points or 0.01 percent to end at 5,911.69.

The major European also closed mixed on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.64 percent, Germany's DAX gained 0.27 percent, and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.34 percent.

Crude oil prices eased on Friday due to uncertainty over Trump's tariffs and their likely impact on global growth and fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.18 or 0.30 percent to $60.76 a barrel.