Asian stocks fluctuated with the yen as Japanese Prime Minister's party suffered a crushing defeat in the Tokyo elections.
Japan's Topix index pared early gains. South Korea's Kospi index and Australian shares fell while New Zealand's shares rose.
The yen spot price fell 0.1 percent to 112 after exit polls showed that the Liberal Democratic Party will probably win the fewest ever seats in the Tokyo assembly. This will add pressure on Shinzo Abe who has already been hit by series of scandals..
With global equities trading near a record high on bets of improving growth, stocks continue to be one of the best-performing assets this year, as emerging-market shares continue to soar in the first six months.
Crude was set for its longest winning streak, gaining for an eighth consecutive session. It rose 0.3 percent to $46.19 a barrel. Gold spot fell little over 0.1 percent to $1239.68 an ounce, a third session of decline.
Crude Extends Longest Winning Streak Of 2017
U.S. drillers targeting crude reduced the number of active rigs for the first time in 24 weeks, snapping the longest stretch of additions in three decades, Baker Hughes Inc. said on Friday. This has set oil on its longest run of gains since June 22.
The commodity in New York and London still posted a monthly loss in June after it slipped into a bear market on concerns that rising supplies from the U.S. drillers will offset OPEC-led efforts of reducing a global glut.
Libyan production has climbed to more than 1 million barrels a day for the first time in four years.
Slow Start?
The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty 50's performance in India, fell less than 0.1 percent to 9513.
Auto stocks will be in focus as companies released their monthly sales figures for June.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Hero Moto Corp. have been one of the firsts among their peers to pass on the benefits of the Goods and Servcies TAX (GST) to their consumers. In a report released on June 1, Maruti Suzuki posted a 7.6 percent year-on-year increase in its total sales.
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