TOKYO – On Monday, Asian markets and U.S. futures exhibited a mixed scene after the Wall Street holiday. A downturn in technology stocks led to declines in benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul.
Oil saw a dip after OPEC+ revealed on Sunday that seven member nations will collectively enhance oil production by 188,000 barrels per day in August. This marks the fifth consecutive month of agreed production increases by OPEC+ members.
The nations committing to increased output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman.
Supply uncertainty remains as negotiations with Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz are paused due to the ongoing funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expected to last for several days.
In early trading Monday, Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell by 25 cents to $71.87 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude decreased by 10 cents to $68.59 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% to 69,468.17. Tech giant SoftBank Group Corp. declined 3.4%, while computer chipmaker Tokyo Electron shed 1.4%.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.8% to 8,027.12
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.8% to 23,542.97, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher to 4,046.71.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1% to 8,833.20.
In currency treading, the U.S. dollar rose to 161.92 Japanese yen from 161.34 yen. A year ago, the dollar was trading at 140 yen levels. The euro cost $1.1432, down from $1.1440.
Markets in the U.S. were closed on Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday. This year, July 4th fell on a Saturday.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
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