Asian stock markets experienced significant declines on Monday, echoing the broad negative sentiment from Wall Street's session on Friday. The release of stronger-than-expected U.S. employment figures has heightened concerns regarding the Federal Reserve's potential decision to maintain current interest rates or decelerate rate reductions. This, coupled with rising bond yields, has added pressure. Most Asian markets concluded last Friday on a downtrend.
The Australian stock market is witnessing a sharp decline on Monday, continuing its downward trend from the previous two sessions, influenced by Wall Street's negative signals. The S&P/ASX 200 index is dropping significantly below the 8,200 mark, with financial and technology sectors underperforming. However, gains in mining and energy sectors, bolstered by increasing commodity prices, are providing some relief.
Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has shed 117.90 points or 1.42 percent to stand at 8,176.20, after reaching a low of 8,170.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 126.20 points or 1.48 percent, settling at 8,417.50. Australian equities closed slightly lower on Friday.
In the mining sector, major companies such as BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, and Rio Tinto are seeing minor gains, with increments ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 percent. Mineral Resources, however, is up more than 4 percent. In the oil sector, Woodside Energy shows an increase of over 2 percent and Origin Energy rises by 0.3 percent, while Santos and Beach Energy both climb nearly 2 percent.
Technology stocks are under pressure, with Afterpay’s owner Block falling by more than 4 percent. WiseTech Global is down almost 4 percent, Appen by 2.5 percent, and both Xero and Zip decreasing nearly 3 percent each.
Gold mining companies are primarily on the rise. Evolution Mining is up by 0.4 percent, Northern Star Resources sees a gain of over 1 percent, and Gold Road Resources increases by more than 2 percent. Newmont, conversely, dips 0.4 percent, and Resolute Mining declines by almost 5 percent.
The big four banks are also facing losses. National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank each decline by 2.5 percent, while Westpac falls nearly 3 percent and ANZ Banking drops by almost 2 percent.
In other developments, shares in NRW Holdings tumbled nearly 9 percent as the company announced the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer Richard Simons after a two-year tenure. Meanwhile, Novonix shares decreased by nearly 5 percent following a decision by the US Department of Energy to deny tax credits, which could have aided its Tennessee facility expansion.
In currency movements, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.616 as of Monday.
The Japanese stock market is closed for The Aged Day on Monday. Japanese shares had ended notably lower on Friday.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is positioned within the higher range of 157 yen on Monday.
Within the broader Asia region, Hong Kong and Taiwan have diminished by 1.7 and 1.5 percent respectively. New Zealand, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia registered declines ranging between 0.4 and 1.0 percent each.
Wall Street witnessed a sharp downturn on Friday, prompted by widespread selling due to robust non-farm payroll data, sparking apprehensions about the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates. Rising bond yields exacerbated market conditions. The major indexes ended significantly lower, with the Dow losing 696.75 points or 1.63 percent, closing at 41,938.45. The S&P 500 fell 91.21 points or 1.54 percent, to finish at 5,827.04, while the Nasdaq decreased 317.25 points or 1.63 percent, ending at 19,161.62.
European markets also trended downward, with Germany's DAX Index down 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index reducing by 0.86 percent, and France's CAC 40 Index dropping 0.79 percent.
Crude oil prices climbed notably on Friday, following the Biden Administration's move to introduce new sanctions on Russia's oil exports. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February rose by $2.65 or 3.6 percent, closing at $76.57 a barrel, marking the highest settlement in three months.
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