CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid optimism on peace talks resuming in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will resume today and cancelled a planned strike on the Iran. Trump said Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia, urged Washington to prioritize diplomacy. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday.
Trump said a planned large-scale military strike on Iran was called off on the condition that efforts to quickly reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities move forward.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. would become the cornerstone of Tehran's future foreign relations.
The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to near the 8,950.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 21.40 points or 0.24 percent to 8,955.40, after hitting a low of 8,940.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.40 points or 0.19 percent to 9,119.60. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue is losing more than 2 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.2 percent each. BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, Woodside Energy is down more than 2 percent and Santos is slipping almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining more than 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block losing almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global, Zip and Xero are declining more than 1 percent. Appen is gaining more than 3 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining and Newmont are down more than 1 percent each, while Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.4 percent and Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Evolution Mining is gaining almost percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. National Australia Bank is edging up 0.1 percent.
In other news, shares in FleetPartners are jumping more than 16 percent after receiving a $770 million takeover bid from SG Fleet.
Shares in IperionX are slipping almost 6 percent after the critical minerals company announced that its ultimate parent company would be redomiciled to Texas and listed directly on the Nasdaq.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in July, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.0, revised higher from the preliminary estimate of 51.7. That's up from 51.5 in June, and marked the strongest expansion since January.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.704 on Monday.
The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Monday, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 63,250 level, with weakness across most sectors led by automakers, exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 63,240.51, down 1,121.51 points or 1.74 percent, after hitting a low of 62,703.47 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is sliding more than 5 percent and Toyota is tumbling almost 5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is down almost 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is declining more than 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is tumbling more than 5 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 4 percent and Mizuho Financial is losing more than 3 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is tumbling almost 9 percent, Canon is down almost 1 percent, Panasonic is declining almost 2 percent and Sony is sliding almost 6 percent.
Among the other major losers, Nippon Electric Glass and Fanuc are plummeting almost 19 percent each, while Toto and Sumitomo Electric Industries are plunging almost 10 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is tumbling more than 8 percent and Suzuki Motor is sliding more than 7 percent, while Mitsubishi Chemical and Yokohama Rubber are slipping more than 6 percent each. Ibiden, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Komatsu and East Japan Railway are declining almost 6 percent each, while Chubu Electric Power is losing more than 5 percent each.
Conversely, Renesas Electronics is soaring more than 10 percent and Kioxia Holdings is jumping almost 8 percent, while Lasertec and Aozora Bank are surging almost 6 percent each. Socionext is advancing almost 5 percent and Nitori Holdings is gaining more than 4 percent, while TDK and Disco are adding more than 3 percent each. Otsuka Holdings is up almost 3 percent.
In economic news, The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing PMI was revised lower to 54.5 in July 2026 from the preliminary estimate of 54.7, following a final reading of 54.8 in the previous month. It marked the seventh straight month of expansion in factory activity, as output grew the most since early 2014.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 156 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 3.8 percent, while China, Hong Kong and Singapore are lower by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Taiwan is up 1.3 percent, while New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Friday after failing to sustain an initial advance but moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved to the upside, adding to the strong gains posted during Thursday's session.
The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the end of the day but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 251.68 points or 1 percent to 25,373.85, the S&P 500 advanced 52.09 points or 0.7 percent to 7,489.72 and the Dow climbed 276.97 points or 0.5 percent to 52,485.03.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices jumped on Friday after Iran's military conducted strikes on U.S. military assets in Bahrain and Kuwait. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.48 or 1.77 percent at $85.07 per barrel.
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