CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mixed on Monday, with some of the markets paring early gains, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will delay the deadline for additional tariffs on Chinese goods set to begin on March 1, citing 'substantial progress' in U.S.-China trade talks.
The Australian market is rising. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 19.40 points or 0.31 percent to 6,186.70, after rising to a high of 6,189.60 in early trades. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 22.70 points or 0.36 percent to 6,264.60. Australian shares closed higher on Friday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is rising more than 2 percent, BHP Group is adding 1 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are also higher after crude oil prices advanced Friday. Santos is higher by 0.6 percent, Woodside Petroleum is up 0.2 percent and Oil Search is adding 0.1 percent.
The big four banks are mixed. ANZ Banking is down 0.1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is declining 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank is rising 0.2 percent and Westpac is adding 0.1 percent.
Gold miners are also mixed even as gold prices closed higher on Friday. Evolution Mining is lower by almost 2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is adding 0.5 percent.
Bluescope Steel reported a 42 percent surge in first-half profit on double-digit increase in revenue and a weaker Australian dollar. The steelmaker's shares are gaining almost 7 percent.
QBE Insurance reported a turnaround to profit in the full year on significantly reduced catastrophe claims. The insurance company's shares are gaining almost 4 percent.
Brambles announced the sale of its reusable plastic containers business IFCO to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority subsidiary Triton and Luxinva for $2.5 billion and also said it will carry out a share buy-back of up to $1.65 billion after the sale of the business. The pallets and container company's shares are advancing almost 2 percent.
oOh!Media said its full-year profit declined 4 percent, while revenues grew 27 percent and underlying earnings grew 25 percent. The outdoor advertiser's shares are losing more than 5 percent.
Lendlease Group reported a 96 percent fall in first-half profit and said it is looking at selling its engineering and services unit. The property and infrastructure group's shares are lower by 5 percent.
Boral said its first-half profit excluding significant items declined 6 percent as the company was hit by heavy rain in both the U.S. and Australia. The building materials supplier's shares are down more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S dollar on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of the delay in additional China tariffs. The local currency was quoted at $0.7149, up from $0.7096 on Friday.
The Japanese market is advancing. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 134.37 points or 0.63 percent to 21,559.88, after touching a high of 21,590.03 earlier.
Japanese shares snapped a four-session winning streak to close lower on Friday. The major exporters are higher. Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are advancing more than 1 percent each, Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent and Canon is rising 0.6 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are rising more than 1 percent each.
Among the major automakers, Honda is adding more than 1 percent and Toyota is up 0.2 percent. In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up 0.3 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.4 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining 1 percent, while Japan Petroleum is higher by 0.6 percent after crude oil prices rose on Friday.
Among the other major gainers, Screen Holdings is rising more than 3 percent, while Taiheiyo Cement, Tokuyama Corp. and Toho Zinc are gaining almost 3 percent each.
On the flip side, NH Foods is losing more than 3 percent and Nippon Express is lower by almost 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were up 1.1 percent on year in January - in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous month. On a monthly basis, producer prices sank 0.5 percent after sliding 0.1 percent in December.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 110 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai is rising more than 2 percent, while New Zealand, Indonesia and Taiwan are also higher. South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia are modestly lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Friday as traders continued to express optimism about ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin revealed later in the day that Chinese negotiators will extend their visit to Washington in an effort to build on the progress made during this week's talks. Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
The Dow climbed 181.18 points or 0.7 percent to 26,031.81, the Nasdaq jumped 67.84 points or 0.9 percent to 7,527.54 and the S&P 500 rose 17.79 points or 0.6 percent to 2,792.67.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday with traders betting on hopes a positive outcome from U.S.-China trade discussions will result in increased demand for crude. WTI crude for April ended up $0.30 or 0.5 percent at $57.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the best settlement since November 12.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
