Asian stock markets are mostly trading weak on Monday with investors treading cautiously amid lingering worries about the economic situation in Europe. Most of the markets in the region started off on a firm note after the Chinese central bank's decision to cut banks' reserve ratio aided sentiment to an extent.
However, with investors indulging in some profit taking at higher levels, the markets retreated to lower levels.
After trading modestly higher earlier in the day, the Australian market pared most of its gains and is currently up marginally amid cautious moves by investors.
Energy and consumer staples stocks, which moved up smartly earlier in the day, are currently trading well off their highs. Mining, financial and industrial stocks are mostly trading flat.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,304.4, is currently trading at 4,287.5, up 2.4 points from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up slightly from the unchanged line at 4,343.6, nearly 17 points off the day's high of 4,360.5.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are up 0.8 to 1.2 percent, while Westpac is trading lower by over 3 percent. National Australia Bank announced that it will raise up to A$500 million by issuing subordinated notes to investors.
Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are trading higher by 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are up marginally, while Newcrest Mining is trading nearly a percent lower.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy are up 1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, while Santos, Oil Search and Caltex Australia are trading flat.
Boart Longyear is down 3.5 percent. Paladin Energy, Onesteel and Perseus Mining are trading lower by 2.3 to 2.6 percent.
Commonwealth Property Office Fund, Alumina, Panaust, QR National, Regis Resources, Atlas Iron, Sims Metal Management, Leighton Holdings and CSR are also trading notably lower.
Lynas Corporation, Iluka Resources, Sydney Airport, Treasury Wine Estates, QBE Insurance Group and Tabcorp Holdings are in positive territory, gaining between 1.5 percent and 3 percent.
Shares of Incitec Pivot are up nearly a percent despite the company's first-half profit declining by 13 percent due to significantly lower earnings from fertilizers. The company's profit for the six months to March 31 was A$143.5 million, down from A$165.6 million in the prior corresponding period.
Incitec Pivot's overall earnings for the first half, excluding one-off items, declined 22 percent from the previous corresponding period to A$214.4 million.
DuluxGroup reported a two percent fall in first-half net profit to A$47.9 million, and says it expects the full-year result on an adjusted basis to be higher than the prior year. The stock is trading 0.7 percent up from its previous closing price.
On the economic front, the number of loans approved to home buyers in Australia rose by an insignificant 0.3 percent after seasonal adjustment, in March, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The value of home loans approved was down by the same margin, while the value of loans approved for investors fell by 1.0 percent. The ABS trend measure of housing finance approvals was down by 0.2 percent in the month, to be up by 4.6 percent for the year.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar drifted lower and slipped below parity against the greenback. Around noon, the Aussie was quoting at 0.9999 to the dollar, notably down from its morning levels.
After three days of losses, the Japanese stock market opened on a firm note with investors picking up stocks amid easing concerns about the Chinese economy following a cut in the reserve requirement ratio.
However, due to lack of support at higher levels, the market pared its gains and was down slightly from the unchanged line when the morning session ended.
Shares from banking, retail, construction, securities and insurance sectors moved higher early on in the session, but retreated later due to profit taking. Pharmaceuticals, glass & ceramics, manufacturing and chemicals stocks were mostly trading lower at the break.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 9,031, was down marginally at 8,952.7 at the end of the morning session.
Among the top gainers in the Nikkei index, NGK Insulators moved up by over 9 percent. Chiyoda Corp shares were up 8.8 percent at the break.
Bank of Yokohama, Nippon Soda, Chiba Bank, East Japan Railway, Citizen Holdings, Mitsubishi Paper Mills, Softbank and Fast Retailing gained 2.3 to 5.5 percent.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Oki Electric Industries, Terumo Corp, Mitsui Mining, Casio Computer, Tosoh, Resona Holdings, Ebara Corp and Mitsubishi Motors lost 3.5 to 5.5 percent.
Shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. tumbled more than 4 percent following a sharp 50 percent fall in the company's earnings.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded slightly above 80 yen in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.98 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan are trading weak, while Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore are up marginally. Markets across the region ended lower on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended lower on Friday after a volatile session with traders reacting to JP Morgan's revelation of a $2 billion trading loss.
While the Dow ended down 34.4 points or 0.3 percent at 12,820.6 and the S&P 500 slid 4.6 points or 0.3 percent to 1,353.4, the Nasdaq edged up 0.2 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,933.8.
Major European markets mostly ended higher on Friday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the German DAX index gained 0.6 percent and 1 percent, respectively, while the French CAC 40 index closed nearly flat.
U.S. crude oil futures ended at a near five-month low on Friday, on a strengthening dollar and on demand concerns following some weak economic data out of China. Crude for June delivery dropped $0.95 or 1 percent to close at $96.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.