Asian stock are mostly higher on Monday as investors shrugged off the negative cues from Wall Street Friday amid concerns about recent market volatility and following news that Johnson & Johnson's one-dose coronavirus vaccine appeared to be less potent against newer COVID variants. Meanwhile, futures contracts for silver surged to a six-month high amid indications of retail investor interest in the metal.
The Australian market recovered after a weak start following the negative cues from Wall Street and is higher, reflecting gains by mining stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 37.00 points or 0.56 percent to 6,644.40, after falling to a low of 6,517.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is rising 32.90 points or 0.48 percent to 6,903.80.
Silver miners are gaining after futures contracts for silver surged to a six-month high amid indications of retail investor interest in the metal. Investigator Resources is gaining almost 22 percent, Argent Minerals is surging more than 21 percent, and Adriatic Metals is climbing more than 12 percent.
The major miners are also mostly higher. Rio Tinto is advancing more than 1 percent and BHP Group is adding 0.6 percent, while Fortescue Metals is down 0.7 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is declining more than 1 percent, while Newcrest Mining is rising more than 1 percent.
Meanwhile, tech stocks are notably lower. Afterpay is losing more than 3 percent, while WiseTech Global and Appen are lower by more than 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are also weak after crude oil prices slipped on Friday. Oil Search and Santos are losing more than 2 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is declining more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are declining more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is lower by almost 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is down 0.6 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in December and January, and at a faster pace, with a combined seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 55.3. That's up from 52.1 in November and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the value of owner-occupied home loans in Australia climbed a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent on month in December, coming in at A$19.94 billion. That follows the 5.5 percent increase in November.
The Japanese market is advancing after two straight days of losses and as investors shrugged off the negative cues from Wall Street Friday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 261.72 points or 0.95 percent to 27,925.11, after touching a high of 27,951.47 earlier. The Japanese market closed sharply lower on Friday, extending losses to a second straight session.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is rising more than 2 percent and Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is higher by more than 2 percent and Advantest is rising more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a weaker yen. Canon is rising more than 3 percent after sharp losses last week, while Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are advancing almost 1 percent each.
Panasonic is down 0.4 percent after reports said the electronics giant has decided to end its unprofitable solar cell manufacturing operations. The company will reportedly end solar cell production at its factories in Malaysia and Japan by March 2022.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are advancing more than 1 percent each. Among automakers, Toyota is down 0.6 percent, while Honda is adding 0.5 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Toto is gaining almost 11 percent, NEC Corp. is rising more than 10 percent and Nippon Express is higher by more than 8 percent.
Conversely, Ajinomoto Co. and TDK Corp. are losing more than 6 percent each, while East Japan Railway is lower by almost 5 percent and Hitachi Construction Machinery is declining more than 4 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed that the manufacturing sector in Japan fell into contraction in January, with a PMI score of 49.8. That's down from 50 in December, which was right on the line that separated expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 104 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is rising more than 1 percent and Hong Kong is advancing almost 1 percent. Taiwan and Indonesia are also higher. Meanwhile, Shanghai, Singapore, and New Zealand are lower. The Malaysian market is closed for a holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Friday amid concerns about recent market volatility as traders kept a close eye on heavily shorted stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment. Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to news that Johnson & Johnson's one-dose coronavirus vaccine appeared to be less potent against variants.
The Dow plunged 620.74 points or 2 percent to 29,982.62, the Nasdaq plummeted 266.46 points or 2 percent to 13,070.69 and the S&P 500 tumbled 73.14 points or 1.9 percent to 3,714.24.
The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Friday, as worries about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases and delays in vaccine supplies weighed on prices. WTI crude for March delivery edged down $0.14 or about 0.3 percent to $52.20 a barrel.
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