Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, on easing concerns about the outlook for US Fed interest rates after data showed a slowdown in U.S. employment growth in April and U.S. service sector activity unexpectedly contracted in April. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday.

The weak data raised hopes that the Fed will start reducing interest rates during the latter part of the current year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell already signaled to the market that rate hikes are off the table in almost any scenario.

The Australian stock market is currently trading notably higher on Monday, adding to the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 7,600.00 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks, partially offset by weakness in gold miners.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 45.10 points or 0.59 percent to 7,674.10, after touching a high of 7,679.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 46.10 points or 0.58 percent to 7,943.60. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is adding almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent, Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent. Santos is flat.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global and Zip are adding almost 2 percent each, while Appen is advancing almost 1 percent and Xero is gaining more than 1 percent. Afterpay owner Block is plunging more than 9 percent.

Gold miners are mostly weak. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent, Newmont is down more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.1 percent and Evolution Mining is declining 1.5 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 1 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is closed for Children's Day on Monday. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Thursday prior to the holiday on Friday.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 153 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 1.4 percent, while China, Singapore and Malaysia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. New Zealand, Hong Kong and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. South Korea is closed for Children's Day holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Friday following the rally seen over the course of Thursday's session. The major averages all moved sharply higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

The major averages moved roughly sideways after an early surge, remaining firmly positive. The Dow jumped 450.02 points or 1.2 percent to 38,675.68, the Nasdaq spiked 315.37 points or 2.0 percent to 16,156.33 and the S&P 500 shot up 63.59 points or 1.3 percent to 5,127.79.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both rose by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Friday, pushing the most active futures contract to their biggest weekly decline in about three months on concerns about the outlook for global oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.84 or 1.06 percent at $78.11 a barrel.