The Asian stock markets are looking at a mixed lead and a narrow range at the opening of trade on Monday, devoid of leads with the U.S. bourses remaining closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
Providing mild support was a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showing that U.S. consumer sentiment in May had improved by more than expected.
But lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe remain likely offset any positive sentiment.
The major U.S. averages ended lower on Friday as the Dow fell 74.92 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 12,454.83, while the NASDAQ edged down 1.85 points or 0.1 percent to end at 2,837.53 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.86 points or 0.2 percent to 1,317.82.
The major European markets moved higher on Friday as the DAX of Germany climbed by 0.38 percent and the CAC 40 of France advanced by 0.32 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. finished up by 0.03 percent and the SMI of Switzerland rose by 0.22 percent.
The Asian markets were mixed on Friday as Indonesia plummeted 2.1 percent, while Taiwan dropped 0.75 percent, China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.74 percent and Singapore fell 0.2 percent.
Moving higher, Thailand gathered 0.63 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI climbed 0.53 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.25 percent, Japan's Nikkei collected 0.20 percent and Malaysia was up 0.19 percent.
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