By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks sagged early Monday, with
commodity-related firms losing ground after a mixed finish on Wall
Street Friday despite an upbeat U.S. nonfarm jobs report.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.4%, while Australia's S&P/ASX
200 Index traded down 0.1%.
Japanese markets were closed for a holiday on Monday, but
mainland Chinese markets were set to reopen following a week-long
closure for the Golden Week holidays.
Markets on mainland China could start the week on a positive
note amid optimism over further policy easing, with Beijing
expected to move closer to resolving big questions over its
leadership transition.
Wall Street ended mixed on Friday after an early rally related
to jobs data, which showed that 114,000 jobs were added to the U.S.
economy in September and the jobless rate fell to 7.8% gave way to
caution ahead of the start of earnings season.
Metals giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) unofficially kicks off the start of
the U.S. third-quarter earnings season on Tuesday.
Gold and other metals settled lower in New York on Friday after
the U.S. jobs data dented expectations of more monetary easing
measures.
"Friday's unexpectedly large fall in the U.S. unemployment rate
-- to a three-and-a-half year low of 7.8% -- rattled Treasuries and
gold, while providing a further fillip to the prices of riskier
assets," noted strategists at Capital Economics.
Following the metal moves in New York, Australian gold mining
giant Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) lost 2.8% in Sydney trading,
while smaller rival Perseus Mining Ltd. declined 1%.
Steel giant Posco fell 1.5% and Hyundai Steel Co. fell 1.6% in
South Korea.
Exporters were also weighing on the market, with shares of
Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF) shedding 0.7% and Hyundai Motor Co.
(HYMTF) losing 0.8%.
Among other notable movers, Bank of Queenland Ltd, extended
losses made late last week when the firm warned that it may report
a fiscal-year loss, with another 2.4% decline on Monday.
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