Asian Markets Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Monday in the absence of fresh cues from Wall Street and European markets, which were closed for the Good Friday holiday, and amid worries about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.

According to data released by Johns Hopkins University, the number of coronavirus infection cases worldwide has risen to 1.84 million, while the death toll stood at more than 114,000.

Investors also digested news that OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to cut oil production by a record 9.7 billion barrels per day for May and June. Crude oil prices rebounded more than 5 percent in Asian trading following the news.

The Japanese market is declining and the safe-haven yen strengthened amid worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 231.34 points or 1.19 percent to 19,267.16, after touching a high of 19,249.25 in early trades. Japanese shares reversed earlier losses to close higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank is lower by more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is losing more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are lower on a stronger yen. Canon, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic and Sony are all losing more than 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are also lower by more than 1 percent each. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent and Toyota is down 0.6 percent.

In the oil sector, Inpex is rising more than 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is adding 0.6 percent as crude oil prices rose more than 6 percent in Asian trading.

Among the major losers, Taisei Corp., Obayashi Corp, and Shimizu Corp. are losing more than 2 percent each, while Comsys Holdings is lower by almost 2 percent.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan said the M2 money stock was up 3.3 percent on year in March, coming in at 1,046.0 trillion yen. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.9 percent following the 3.0 percent gain in February.

The M3 money stock climbed an annual 2.7 percent to 1,380.6 trillion yen versus expectations for a gain of 2.4 percent and down from 2.5 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia are also lower, while Malaysia and Taiwan are edging higher. The markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong are closed for Easter Monday, while Thailand is shuttered for the Songkran Festival.

The U.S. and European markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Friday. WTI crude for May sank $2.33 or 9.29 percent to $22.76 a barrel. In Asian trading Monday, crude oil prices rose $1.20 or 5.27 percent to $23.96.

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