Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Monday with investors mostly treading cautiously amid lingering worries about the economic situation in Europe. However, losses are not much pronounced with traders indulging in some bargain hunting after recent sharp losses.
After moving up smartly early on in the session amid hopes that Greece will stay in the euro zone, the Australian market retreated with investors turning cautious and trimming down long positions.
Financial, mining and healthcare stocks moved higher in morning trades, but are currently off their highs. Stocks from consumer discretionary, energy and industrial sectors are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,088.7, is currently trading at 4,055, up 8.5 points from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 6.2 points at 4,105, well off the day's high of 4,137.7.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac moved up by 1.2 to 2 percent earlier in the day, but gave up most of their gains subsequently. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are up with modest gains.
Among miners, BHP Billiton is up 2 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining about 1 percent, Newcrest Mining is up nearly 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is trading higher by 0.4 percent.
In the energy sector, Oil Search and Santos are up with modest gains and Caltex Australia is up nearly a percent, while Origin Energy and Woodside Petroleum are trading flat.
Regis Resources and Iluka Resources are trading higher by 3 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. Lynas Corporation, Westfield Retail Trust, Bluescope Steel, Ramsay Healthcare and Graincorp are up 1.5 to 1.8 percent.
Beach Energy shares are down more than 3 percent. Paladin Energy, Boart Longyear, Cochlear and Computershare are trading lower by 2 to 3 percent. Monadelphous Group, CSR and Aquarius Platinum are also trading notably lower.
James Hardie Industries posted a significantly improved full-year profit due to a favorable ruling in a long-running tax dispute. James Hardie posted a net profit of A$613.16 million for the year to March 31, compared to loss of A$352.09 million in the previous corresponding period. The stock is trading nearly a percent up.
Elders Limited shares are up 2.5 percent on strong financial results. The company returned to profitability with a first half net profit of A$40.5 million, compared to net loss of A$14.6 million for the same period last year.
After a smart upmove following some brisk buying in early trades, the Japanese stock market gave up most of its gains due to lack of support at higher levels. While bargain hunting lifted stock prices early on in the session, the yen's slight appreciation against the greenback and the euro dragged the market down from higher levels.
Shares from manufacturing, insurance, marine transport and fishery sections started off on a bright note and were mostly up in positive territory when the morning session ended. Electric power, automobile and mining stocks traded mixed.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which advanced to 8,675.6 in early trades, was up 22.6 points or 0.3 percent at 8.633.9 at the end of the morning session.
Furukawa Co. Limited shares gained 3.5 percent. Comsys Holdings Corp., Daiichi Sankyo, Oki Electric Industry, Fanuc Corp, Tokyo Electric Power, NEC Corp, Fast Retailing, Hitachi Zosen and Okuma Corp moved up by 2 to 3 percent.
Hitachi Construction Machinery, Sony Financial Holdings, IHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsui Mining, Nippon Light Metals and Trend Micro were also up with strong gains at the break.
Panasonic Corp. shares lost nearly 3 percent due to an uncertain earnings outlook. Sharp Corp, Aozora Bank, Nomura Holdings, Casio Computer, Kyocera Corp, Sony Corp, Advantest Corp, Pacific Metals and Denso Corp lost 1.5 to 3 percent.
Softbank, Isuzu Motors, Nisshin Steel, Bank of Yokohama and Bridgestone Corp also traded weak.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded slightly above 79 yen in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.15 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand and Singapore are trading weak. South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably higher, while Malaysia is up marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks ended lower on Friday amid lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe. The major averages ended at their worst levels in four months.
While the Dow closed down 73.1 points or 0.6 percent at 12,369.4, the Nasdaq plunged 34.9 points or 1.2 percent to 2.778.8 and the S&P 500 slid 9.6 points or 0.7 percent to 1,295.2.
Major European markets too moved to the downside on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE index slid 1.3 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index lost 0.6 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures extended losses to a sixth straight session on Friday, amid demand growth concerns and continued worries over the Greece crisis. Crude for June delivery dropped $1.08 or 1.2 percent to close at $91.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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