CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as the failure of peace negotiations between the warring factions in the Middle East over the weekend raised concerns about whether the fragile ceasefire will hold. Asian markets closed mixed on Friday.
Talks failed over Iran's refusal to halt efforts to develop nuclear weapons, while Tehran reportedly demanded control of the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, and the release of frozen assets.
Following the failed talks in Islamabad, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy will block 'all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports' starting on Monday. 'It's going to be all or none and that's the way it is,' the president said.
Iran's navy chief asserted that the country is prepared to counter any military action and will not be intimidated by what it called 'imaginary plans.'
Trump is also reportedly considering renewed strikes on Iran, raising concerns over a broader escalation in the global energy crisis.
The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,950.00 level, with weakness in gold miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 42.70 points or 0.48 percent to 8,917.90, after hitting a low of 8,889.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 48.70 points or 0.53 percent to 9,107.10. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent. Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 4 percent, Woodside Energy is adding more than 3 percent and Santos is advancing more than 2 percent, while Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is declining almost 3 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent, Appen is slipping almost 4 percent, Zip is tumbling almost 6 percent and Xero is down almost 2 percent.
Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are losing almost 4 percent each, while Resolute Mining is slipping more than 4 percent, Newmont is down more than 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is losing more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are down almost 1 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Monday, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 56,400 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 56,357.40, down 566.71 points or 1.00 percent, after hitting a low of 56,287.62 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent, Screen Holdings is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is sliding more than 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.
The major exporters are lower. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent, while Sony is sliding more than 2 percent and Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent. Canon is flat.
Among the other major losers, Ibiden is sliding almost 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors, Yokohama Rubber, Mitsui Kinzoku and Toppan Holdings are losing more than 3 percent each. Osaka Gas, Resonac Holdings, Renesas Electronics, Denka, SHIFT and Sumitomo Pharma are declining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Yaskawa Electric is advancing almost 6 percent, while Inpex, Ryohin Keikaku and Fujikura are gaining almost 4 percent each. Dentsu Group is adding more than 3 percent and Komatsu is up almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea are lower by between 1.0 and 1.6 percent each, while China, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Indonesia and Taiwan are up 0.1 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday after recovering from an initial pullback to end Thursday's session mostly higher. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session before closing mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 80.48 points or 0.4 percent to a more than one-month closing high of 22,902.89, the S&P 500 edged down 7.77 points or 0.1 percent to 6,816.89 and the Dow slid 269.23 points or 0.6 percent to 47,916.57.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day little changed. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K's FTSE 100 Index both closed just below the unchanged line.
Crude oil prices slumped Friday despite persistent tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.15 or 1.18 percent at $96.72 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
