Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid expectations of the three-year-plus war between Russia and Ukraine ending soon, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he and Russian President Putin discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had "largely agreed". Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the potential for immediate cease-fire is "not off the table." Russia reportedly said it is open to the idea of the U.S. and its European allies offering Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate.

Traders feel that a positive outcome from this meeting could streamline global trade as well as financial and commodities markets.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower in choppy trading on Monday after opening in the red and briefly treading in to the green, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is staying above the 8,900.00 level, with weakness in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 3.80 points or 0.04 percent to 8,934.80, after hitting a low of 8,912.20 and a fresh all-time high 8,960.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 1.10 points or 0.01 percent to 9,211.00. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Friday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is losing more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy, Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are down almost 1 percent each, while Xero is edging down 0.2 percent. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent and Appen is gaining more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.2 percent and Resolute Mining is losing 2.5 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are losing more than 1 percent each. Newmont is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is advancing almost 2 percent, Westpac is edging up 0.2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking is losing 1.5 percent.

In other news, shares in DigiCo Infrastructure REIT are tumbling almost 10 percent after it reported full year underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation that missed expectations.

Shares in oOh!media are also sliding almost 10 percent after the outdoor advertising company reported that earnings came in below market expectations. Its outlook was also lower than consensus.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 43,750 level to fresh all-time highs, with gains in automakers and exporters partially offset by weakness in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 43,757.84, up 379.53 points or 0.87 percent, after touching a fresh all-time high of 43,781.44 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are sliding almost 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial is declining 1.5 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic and Canon are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent. Sony is declining more than 2 percent. Among the other major gainers, Isetan Mitsukoshi is soaring more than 7 percent and Suzuki Motor is surging almost 5 percent, while GS Yuasa and J. Front Retailing are gaining more than 4 percent each. Sumco is adding almost 4 percent, while Sapporo Holdings, CyberAgent, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Taiyo Yuden are up more than 3 percent each. Daiichi Sankyo, M3, Ajinomoto, Takashimaya, Mitsui Mining & Smelting and IHI are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Lasertec is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 147 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each, while Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 1.3 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Friday following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moved to the downside, although the narrower Dow managed to post a modest gain.

While the Dow inched up 34.86 points or 0.1 percent to 44,946.12, the S&P 500 fell 18.74 points or 0.3 percent to 6,449.80 and the Nasdaq slid 87.69 points or 0.4 percent to 21,622.98.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil traded lower on Friday ahead of the meeting between the presidents of the U.S. and Russia, which ultimately accomplished nothing. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $1.20 or 1.88 percent at $62.76 per barrel.