Asian stock markets and U.S. futures were moving in different directions Monday, coming off a long holiday weekend for Wall Street, with technology stocks dragging down markets in Tokyo and Seoul.
Oil prices dropped after OPEC+ revealed Sunday that seven of its member countries plan to collectively boost crude production by 188,000 barrels per day in August. This marks the fifth month in a row that the group has agreed to increase output.
The seven nations moving forward with higher production are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman.
Supply uncertainty remains in the market, however, as negotiations with Iran over fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz appear to be stalled. The pause comes as funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are expected to continue for several more days.
In early Monday energy trading, Brent crude — the international benchmark — slipped 25 cents to $71.87 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark crude price fell 10 cents to $68.59 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.4% to 69,468.17. Technology firm SoftBank Group Corp. fell 3.4%, while chipmaker Tokyo Electron declined 1.4%. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.8% to 8,027.12.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.8% to 23,542.97, and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 4,046.71. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped slightly, down 0.1% to 8,833.20.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar climbed to 161.92 Japanese yen, up from 161.34 yen. One year ago, the dollar was trading near the 140 yen level. The euro was valued at $1.1432, a slight decline from $1.1440.
U.S. markets were closed Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day, since the July 4th holiday fell on a Saturday this year.
