Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Monday with investors mostly treading cautiously amid worries about the financial situation in the U.S. and Europe. Though most of the markets in the region got off to a flat and slightly negative start, some of them have edged up and posted notable gains on support at lower levels.
After a flat start and a subsequent fall to lower levels, the Australian market has regained lost ground on selective buying support. Consumer discretionary, energy, industrial and information technology stocks are mostly trading weak. Healthcare and telecommunications stocks are trading higher, while mining and financial stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,450.6 in morning trades, is now up 2.2 points at 4,475.7. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 1.5 points at 4,544.2, well off the day's low of 4,520.1.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are down marginally, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are trading modestly higher. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is down 0.6 percent, while Bank of Queensland is down with a loss of 1.6 percent.
Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton is down marginally. Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining are up 0.7 percent and 1 percent respectively, while Fortescue Metals is trading flat.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum is down nearly 2 percent and Origin Energy is losing about 1.6 percent, while Oil Search is up with a gain of over 2 percent.
Santos Ltd shares are down 2.8 percent. According to reports, Santos will buy the majority of Eastern Star Gas's coal seam gas permits in a deal worth A$924 million.
Sundance Resources Ltd shares are up nearly 18 percent following the company receiving a takeover offer that values the Africa-focused iron ore miner at A$1.44 billion. According to a communication from the company, Hanlong Mining Investment, which already has an 18.6 percent stake in Sundance, has offered 50 cents per share in cash for the miner. Sundance shares are currently under a trading halt.
Shares of News Corporation are down nearly 7 percent on reports that the London police arrested Rebekah Brooks, who resigned last Friday as chief executive of News International, News Corp's UK arm that published the now defunct News of the World.
Myer Holdings and Seven West Media are trading lower by 3.6 percent and 3.8 percent respectively. Leighton Holdings, JB Hi-Fi, MAP Group, Caltex Australia, Paladin Energy, Macquarie Group, GPT Group and Lend Lease are also trading notably lower.
Iluka Resources, Primary Healthcare, Goodman Group, Cochlear and Aquarius Platinum are among the notable gainers.
According to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, vehicles sales in Australia rebounded in June. The number vehicles sold in Australia in June was up by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent than the previous month. This followed a 7.6 percent slump in May. During June, 77,424 vehicles were sold compared to 76,401 in May. Sales fell 11.5 percent year-on-year. But the decline was slower than the 14.5 percent fall recorded in May.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened weak and was quoting at US$1.0629 in early trades, down 0.4 percent from Friday's close of US$1.0673. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 1.0596 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea are trading notably lower. Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore are up with modest gains, while Taiwan and Shanghai are trading flat. The Japanese market is closed for Marine Day holiday. Markets across the region turned in a mixed performance on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks posted modest gains on Friday with upbeat corporate news offsetting economic concerns and uncertainty about the debt limit. The major indices closed firmly in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming its counterparts. The Dow rose 42.6 points or 0.3 percent to 12,479.7, the Nasdaq jumped 27.1 points or 0.1 percent to 2,789.8 and the S&P 500 climbed 7.3 points or 0.6 percent to 1,316.1.
Despite the gains on the day, the major averages all closed lower for the week. The Dow fell by 1.4 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dropped by 2.4 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
Much of the strength on Wall Street on Friday stemmed from positive earnings news, with shares of Google moving sharply higher after the internet search giant reported better than expected second-quarter results. Google rose by 13 percent to a four-month closing high.
Major European markets ended on a mixed note on Friday. The German DAX index edged up by 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index ended lower by 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
Crude oil prices ended higher on Friday amid lower supplies. A firm trend in equities market on the back of reasonably favorable results of a stress test on European banks contributed to the surge as well. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended up $1.55 at $97.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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