(fxcue news) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid easing concerns over a global trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to delay the implementation of new reciprocal tariff plans. Major currencies in the region also strengthened against the US dollar. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday. Data showing US retail sales slumped much more than expected in January increased expectations the US Fed will cut interest rate earlier than previously expected. The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Monday, snapping a four-session winning streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,500.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and financial stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 56.80 points or 0.66 percent to 8,499.00, after hitting a low of 8,480.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 51.00 points or 0.58 percent to 8,774.10. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday. Among the major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent each and Rio Tinto is declining almost 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are losing almost 2 percent each. Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging down 0.5 percent and Woodside Energy is declining almost 3 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 2 percent. Among tech stocks, Zip is surging more than 6 percent and Appen is adding more than 1 percent, while Afterpay owner Block, WiseTech Global and Xero are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is declining more than 3 percent and Northern Star Resources is sliding almost 4 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Newmont are losing more than 2 percent each. Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are losing almost 2 percent each, while Westpac is declining almost 6 percent after reporting downbeat results for the first quarter. In other news, shares in BlueScope are jumping almost 10 percent after Australia's biggest steelmaker boosted its interim dividend to 30 cents despite a 59 percent drop in net profit after tax. Shares in A2 Milk are soaring more than 18 percent after it upgraded full-year revenue guidance and announced its first dividend. Shares in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank are tumbling almost 17 percent after reporting downbeat results for the first half. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.636 on Monday. The Japanese stock market is slightly higher on Monday after alternating across the unchanged line, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 index is staying well above the 39,100 level, with gains in technology and financial stocks nearly offset by weakness in index heavyweights and automaker stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,164.87, up 15.44 points or 0.04 percent, after hitting a low of 39,021.23 and a high of 39,238.75 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Friday. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is sliding almost 3 percent and Toyota is losing more than 2 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial is flat. The major exporters are mixed. Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent and Canon is losing 1.5 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.1 percent. Among the other major losers, Olympus and Dentsu Group are plummeting almost 12 percent each, while Amada and Rakuten Group are plunging more than 6 percent each. Hino Motors is losing almost 5 percent, while Subaru, MS&AD Insurance, Japan Post and Ricoh are slipping more than 4 percent each, while Yokogawa Electric is down almost 4 percent. Mazda Motor is losing more than 3 percent, while Shiseido, DeNA and NEXON are declining almost 3 percent each. Conversely, Credit Saison is skyrocketing more than 12 percent, Ebara is soaring more than 8 percent, Nippon Express Holdings is surging almost 8 percent, ENEOS Holdings is gaining more than 5 percent, Dai-ichi Life Holdings is adding almost 5 percent and Asahi Group Holdings is advancing more than 4 percent, while T&D Holdings and Otsuka Holdings are up almost 4 percent each. Tokyo Gas is up more than 3 percent, while Renesas Electronics, Kirin Holdings, Sumitomo Pharma and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are advancing almost 3 percent each. In economic news, Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's preliminary report. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent and was up from the upwardly revised 0.4 percent gain in the previous three months (originally 0.3 percent). On an annualized basis, GDP was up 2.8 percent - again exceeding expectations for an increase of 2.0 percent and up from the upwardly revised 1.7 percent gain in the three months prior (originally 1.2 percent). The GDP price index was up 2.8 percent on year, in line with estimates and up from 2.4 percent in the third quarter. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 151 yen-range on Monday. Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia and Taiwan are up 1.8 and 1.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is down 0.5 percent. On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday following the rally seen during Thursday's session. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the day mixed. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 81.13 points or 0.4 percent to 20,026.77, the S&P 500 edged down 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,114.64 and the narrower Dow fell 165.35 points or 0.4 percent to 44,546.08. The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.4 percent. Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday as supply concerns eased amid hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and possibility of removal of sanctions on Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures fell $0.55 or 0.77 percent at $70.74 a barrel. WTI futures gained 1.0 percent for the week.