Most major Asian indexes edged down on Monday as investors digested earnings reports and President Donald Trump's tour of the region got underway.

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US stocks had closed higher on Friday despite a mixed jobs report for October as markets focused on strong earnings.

Markets on the move

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26 percent as markets re-opened for trade after a long weekend. Oil stocks and most automakers notched gains except for Mazda Motor, which declined 2.78 percent on a poorer-than-expected quarterly profit.

Minutes from the Bank of Japan released Monday showed most policymakers thought the central bank should keep its current policy guidelines, Reuters reported.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi came under pressure. The index declined 0.57 percent as a fall in blue-chip tech stocks weighed on the broader market: Samsung Electronics erased 1.1 percent and SK Hynix slid 0.95 percent. Cosmetics and oil stocks, however, notched gains.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX was off 0.14 percent, with gains in energy and utilities stocks offset by losses in the heavily-weighted financials sub-index.

Australia's Westpac announced on Monday that its cash earnings rose 3 percent to 8.06 billion Australian dollars (USD 6.17 billion) for the year ending on Sept. 30. That was below the 4 percent rise forecast in a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, statutory net profit for the period rose 7 percent to AUSD 7.99 billion (USD 6.11 billion). Westpac shares lagged other banking stocks to fall 2.4 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.05 percent in early trade. Mainland markets fared slightly better, recording more moderate losses. The Shanghai Composite was off 0.22 percent and the Shenzhen Composite shed 0.106 percent.

Asian corporates on Monday's earnings calendar included Sumitomo and Mitsubishi.

US tocks closed at record levels on Friday, with Apple shares jumping in the session following its earnings beat. The Nasdaq composite surged 0.74 percent, or 49.49 points, to close at a record 6,764.44 on those results.

The lead up

Data on Friday showed that a total 261,000 jobs were created in the US in October, significantly below the 310,000 figure expected. The unemployment rate for the period, however, came in at 4.1 percent, a shade below the 4.2 percent forecast.

Elsewhere, several Saudi ministers and princes, including prominent investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, were detained over the weekend as part of an anti-corruption probe in the country. Saudi Arabia's stock market initially fell on Sunday in reaction, but had edged higher by the end of the session.

Also in focus in the region was Trump's tour of Asia, with Japan the first of the five nations on the itinerary. On his arrival in Japan, Trump warned that "no dictator" ought to "ever underestimate American resolve." The president will also visit South Korea, China, Vietnam and Philippines during his trip.

Corporate news

In other news, merger talks between telcos Sprint and T-Mobile have ceased, the companies announced on Saturday. Japan's SoftBank, the parent of Sprint, is due to report earnings on Monday. SoftBank stock was down 2.15 percent in early trade.

Qatar Airways announced it would be buying around 9.61 percent of Cathay Pacific Airways. Kingboard Chemical said in a filing on the Hong Kong Exchange that it would be disposing of those shares for consideration of 5.16 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 661 million). Cathay shares fell 4.09 percent and Kingboard Chemical was up 1.04 percent.

Elsewhere, DBS Bank said Monday its third-quarter net profit came it at 822 million Singapore dollars (USD 602 million), well below the SUSD 1.13 billion forecast in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll. The bank also said its exposure to the oil and gas support services sector stood at SUSD 5.3 billion (USD 3.8 billion). DBS shares were off 0.7 percent.

Watching the dollar

The dollar broadly extended gains made in the last session following Friday's stateside data releases. The dollar index stood at 94.979 at 9:48 a.m. HK/SIN after touching as high at 95.015 on Friday.

Against the yen, the greenback firmed to trade at 114.60, above Friday's close of 114.06.

The commodities trade

Oil prices touched their highest levels in more than two years as markets kept an eye on the developments in Saudi Arabia. Brent crude was up 0.35 percent at USD 62.29 a barrel and US crude futures tacked on 0.29 percent to trade at USD 55.80.

First Published:Nov 6, 2017 7:52 AM IST