CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid escalation in the middle-east conflict after the U.S. joined Israel in the weeks-long war with Iran, with US carrying out a 'successful' airstrike on three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend. This has heightened fears of a broader regional conflict. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.
Trade tensions also intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is going to send letters to trading partners, fixing unilateral tariffs even ahead of the July 9 deadline he had already set for negotiations
The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,500.00 level, with weakness in iron ore miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 53.50 points or 0.63 percent to 8,452.00, after hitting a low of 8,421.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 58.60 points or 0.67 percent to 8,664.90. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are slipping 1.5 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is advancing more than 3 percent. Woodside Energy is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, while Appen is sliding more than 5 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent, Zip is tumbling 4.5 percent and Xero is slipping almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Newmont is gaining almost 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is adding almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 5 percent, while Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 1 percent each.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging 0.3 percent and ANZ Banking is declining 1.5 percent.
In other news, shares in Adairs are tumbling almost 26 percent after the homewares and furniture retailer trimmed its profit outlook for the year, warning that stronger promotional activity had boosted sales but would dent margins.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.642 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 38,200 mark, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,175.63, down 227.08 points or 0.59 percent, after hitting a low of 38,026.32 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down more than 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are losing more than 2 percent each, while Screen Holdings is declining almost 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.3 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.2 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic is edging down 0.5 percent and Sony is losing more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are declining almost 1 percent each.
Among the other major losers, Lasertec is losing almost 4 percent, while Fujikura and Disco are declining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Sapporo Holdings is surging more than 5 percent, IHI is gaining more than 4 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is adding more than 3 percent and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is advancing almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-146 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia and Taiwan are down 1.4 percent each, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are lower by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent each. China and Malaysia are up 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Friday after moving to the upside in early trading with traders returning to their desks following the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday. Traders keep a close eye on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
The Dow rose 36.12 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 42,206.82, while the NASDAQ slipped 98.89 points or 0.51 percent to close at 19,447.41 and the S&P 500 eased 13.03 points or 0.22 percent to end at 5,967.84.
The major European markets also closed mixed on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 17.15 points or 0.20 percent to close at 8,774.65, while Germany's DAX jumped 293.17 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 23,350.55 and France's CAC 40 added 36.21 points or 0.48 percent to end at 7,589.66.
Crude oil prices slipped on Friday as concerns of U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict faded, even as the fighting between the two nations intensified. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery closed down by $0.21 to $74.93 per barrel.
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