Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Monday amid uncertainty whether U.S. interest rates would begin to rise in September and on worries about further volatility in China. The Shanghai stock market is currently down more than 2 percent.
In an interview with CNBC, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday that it was too early to tell if the Fed will raise interest rates in September, but noted that the central bank is heading in the direction of raising rates.
The Australian market opened lower amid worries about a U.S. rate hike and more volatility in China.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is declining 58.70 points or 1.12 percent to 5,204.90, off a low of 5,185.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 54.80 points or 1.04 percent to 5,219.90.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Westpac (WBK) and Commonwealth Bank are down in a range of 1.0 percent to 1.4 percent.
Mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP) is down 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO) is losing 0.4 percent, while Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 4 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.09 percent, while Kingsgate Consolidated is advancing almost 2 percent after gold prices rose on Friday.
In the oil sector, Oil Search is declining 0.4 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is up 0.2 percent and Santos is adding 0.6 percent after crude oil prices surged on Friday.
Qantas Airways' shares are down almost 2 percent after the airline said its Jetstar subsidiary plans to expand its New Zealand network.
Shares of Ansell are rising 0.3 percent after the gloves and condom maker announced a share buyback of $100 million over the next twelve months.
Transfield Services' contract to run the federal government's Nauru and Manus Island offshore detention centers is expected to be renewed for another five-year term, after it was chosen as the preferred tenderer. Shares of the detention center operator are gaining almost 5 percent.
Vocation Ltd.'s net loss for the full year to June 30 widened to A$300.3 million from A$3.5 million in the prior year on lower revenues and a scandal at its Victorian operations. The company named Frank Lintvelt as its new CFO. However, shares of the troubled education services provider are up more than 3 percent.
On the economic front, the latest forecast from TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute showed that consumer prices are predicted to have risen 1.7 percent on year in August. That was up from 1.6 percent in the July forecast.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices are expected to have added 0.1 percent after gaining 0.2 percent in the previous month.
Australia will also release second-quarter numbers for company operating profits, July data for private sector credit and new home sales later in the day.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday as rising expectations of a U.S. rate hike offset upbeat risk sentiment. In early trades the local unit was trading at US$0.7155, down from Friday's close of US$0.7167.
The Japanese market is declining, as investor sentiment was dampened by the lackluster cues from Wall Street and weak Japanese industrial output data released ahead of the market open.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index is losing 182.37 points or 0.95 percent to 18,953.95, off a low of 18,859.02 earlier. Iron and steel, real estate and nonferrous metals stocks are among the leading decliners.
The major exporters are mixed. Sony Corp. (SNE) is adding 0.4 percent and Panasonic is gaining 0.7 percent, while Toshiba is losing 0.3 percent and Canon is declining more than 1 percent. Market heavyweight Fast Retailing is losing more than 2 percent.
In the tech sector, Fanuc is down more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent. Automaker Toyota (TM) is lower by more than 1 percent and Honda (HMC) is declining almost 1 percent.
Suzuki Motor will buy back the 19.9 percent stake that it sold to Volkswagen AG, after an international court settled a dispute between the automakers over their soured partnership, according to media reports. Shares of Suzuki are down more than 1 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is losing almost 2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial (MFG) are lower by more than 1 percent each.
Among the other major gainers, Fujitsu is rising more than 3 percent and Sumco Corp is advancing 2.5 percent. Oki Electric Industry is losing more than 4 percent, Okuma Corp. is down 3.5 percent and Keisi Electric Railway Co. is lower by more than 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that industrial output in Japan dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on month in July. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 1.1 percent increase in June.
On a yearly basis, industrial output advanced 0.2 percent - also shy of expectations for a gain of 0.8 percent following the 2.3 percent contraction in the previous month.
Japan will also see July numbers for vehicle production, housing starts and construction orders later in the day.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 121 yen-range on Monday, compared to the upper 120 yen range at close on Friday in Tokyo.
Elsewhere in the Asian region, Shanghai is down more than 2 percent, while South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are marginally lower. New Zealand and Indonesia are up with modest gains.
The stock markets in Malaysia and the Philippines are closed on Monday for National Day and Nation Heroes Day, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Friday amid choppy trading as traders took a breather following the big swings seen in recent sessions and on comments by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer about the outlook for interest rates. The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
While the Dow edged down 11.76 points or 0.1 percent to 16,643.01, the Nasdaq rose 15.62 points or 0.3 percent to 4,828.32 and the S&P 500 inched up 1.21 points or 0.1 percent to 1,988.87.
The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on Friday. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Crude oil prices skyrocketed for a second straight session Friday, logging their biggest weekly gain in more than six years. Crude oil for October delivery jumped $2.66 to $45.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
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