Materials stocks advanced nearly 2% at midday Monday.
BHP Group (ASX:BHP) gained 1% in recent trade.
On the flip side, the consumer discretionary sector struggled, shedding more than 2%.
Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) shares fell 3% in recent trade.
What else is happening in Asia?
Asia
Sands China's Attributable Profit Slips 3.6% in H1; Interim Dividend Declared
Sands China (HKG:1928) recorded a 3.6% decline in profit attributable to equity holders in the first half to $398 million from $413 million a year prior.Earnings per share slipped to $0.0492 from $0.051 previously, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.Net revenue increased 11% to $3.88 billion from $3.49 billion in the year-ago period.The company declared an interim dividend of HK$0.50 per share for the period, payable Oct. 9 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 18.
HKG:1928
Asia
Longfor Warns of Lower H1 Profit
Longfor (HKG:0960) expects profit attributable to owners of between 1.8 billion yuan and 2 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, down from 3.22 billion yuan a year prior.The property developer attributed the forecast to a continued decline in recognized revenue from the property development business and pressure on the recognized gross profit margin.
HKG:0960
Asia
MCC Logs 447.5 Billion Yuan in January-July New Contract Value
Metallurgical Corp. of China (SHA:601618, HKG:1618), or MCC's, newly-signed contract value for the seven months ended July 31 stood at around 447.5 billion yuan.Of the total, the value of newly-signed overseas contracts reached roughly 39.1 billion yuan, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.
HKG:1618SHA:601618