CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, as renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to the recent rebound in the markets following dovish comments from leading US Fed officials. Concerns about the lofty market valuations, primarily technology stocks, continue to weigh on the markets. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 87.4 percent chance the central bank will cut rates by another quarter point at its December meeting.
The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday after opening in the green, with a relatively flat close in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,600.00 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining and energy stocks.
Dozens of companies listed on the ASX were unable to release investor updates, including market-sensitive announcements, following the latest outage in a series of operational mishaps by the share market operator. The disruption impacted around 50 stocks.
ASX said it has implemented an initial remediation and has begun processing announcements received since late morning. However, earlier submissions remain affected.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 31.20 points or 0.36 percent to 8,582.90, after touching a high of 8,624.70 and a low of 8,581.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.40 points or 0.40 percent to 8,883.30. Australian stocks closed relatively flat on Friday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent and Fortescue is edging up 0.4 percent. Mineral Resources is declining more than 4 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are gaining more than 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is advancing more than 1 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 1 percent, Newmont is edging up 0.3 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 2 percent, while Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent and Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking Bank are losing more than 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.3 percent and National Australia is down almost 1 percent.
In other news, shares in AUB Group are tumbling more than 17 percent after terminating takeover talks with suitors EQT and CVC.
In economic news, company gross operating profits in Australia were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis in the third quarter of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That missed expectations for an increase of 1.7 percent following the downwardly revised 2.6 percent contraction in the previous three months (originally -2.4 percent). On a yearly basis, profits were up 1.1 percent.
The manufacturing sector in Australia bounced back up into expansion territory in November, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.6. That's up from 49.7 and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.654 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, reversing the slight gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 49,400 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and exporter. Financial stocks were the only bright spot.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,407.31, down 846.60 points or 1.68 percent, after hitting a low of 49,301.69 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent and Toyota is down more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 3 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.3 percent. Tokyo Electron is flat.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are advancing more than 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is gaining more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent and Canon is down almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are declining almost 3 percent each.
Among the other major losers, Fujikura and Sumitomo Pharma are tumbling almost 6 percent each, while Tokyo Electric Power and Mitsui Kinzoku are declining more than 5 percent each. Furukawa Electric is down almost 4 percent, while Inpex, Ebara, IHI, Sumitomo Realty & Development and Denka are losing more than 3 percent each. Japan Steel Works, NEC and Toppan Holdings are slipping almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Secom, Fukuoka Financial, Shizuoka Financial and Chiba Bank are advancing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in November, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.7. That's up from 48.2in October, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.3 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks extended their pre-holiday rally during trading on Friday, with traders returning to their desks following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, closing higher for the fifth consecutive session.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow climbed 289.30 points or 0.6 percent to 47,716.42, the Nasdaq advanced 151.00 points or 0.7 percent to 23,365.69 and the S&P 500 rose 36.48 points or 0.5 percent to 6,849.09.
The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index all rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday a proposed peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war remains in limbo. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.18 or 0.31 percent at $58.83 per barrel.
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