Asian markets showed mixed results on Monday, with U.S. futures experiencing an uptick after the long holiday weekend in the U.S. Technology stocks negatively impacted indexes in Tokyo and Seoul. OPEC+ announced on Sunday that seven member countries plan to increase oil production by a collective 188,000 barrels per day in August, marking the fifth straight month of output increases.
The countries contributing to the rise in production include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman. Despite the rise in production, uncertainty over supply remains due to stalled negotiations with Iran concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. These discussions are on hold due to ongoing funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, extending over several days.
In energy trading on Monday, Brent crude prices fell by 2 cents, settling at $72.10 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. benchmark crude saw an increase, rising by 20 cents to reach $68.89 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a decline of 0.3%, settling at 69,568.27. Notably, SoftBank Group Corp. fell by 3.3%, and Tokyo Electron, a computer chip manufacturer, decreased by 1.0%. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.7% to 8,033.16.
Conversely, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose by 0.8% to 23,540.58, while China’s Shanghai Composite index registered a minor decrease of less than 0.1%, closing at 4,042.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped by 0.2% to 8,831.00.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar strengthened, rising to 162.08 Japanese yen from 161.34 yen. A year prior, the dollar stood at 140 yen levels. The euro saw a slight decline, costing $1.1425 compared to the previous $1.1440.
U.S. markets remained closed on Friday, July 3, to observe the Independence Day holiday, as July 4th landed on a Saturday this year.