Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday after a week that saw a broad rally in stocks, as investors awaited a slew of central bank releases and inflation data this week, CNBC reported.
The Bank of Korea will release its rate decision on Thursday, while inflation data from Japan and Singapore will be released on Friday. China will announce its one- and five-year loan prime rates on Tuesday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.94%, while the broad-based Topix fell 0.75%. Both indexes are on pace to snap a five-day winning streak.
On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose over 1.14%, while the CSI 300 was up 0.41%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.17%.
On Friday in the U.S., the S&P 500 added 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.21% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.24%, rounding off a week of gains.
According to Reuters, the dollar slid on Monday after global equities enjoyed their best week in nine months on expectations the U.S. economy would dodge a recession and cooling inflation would kick off a cycle of interest rate cuts.
Against the yen, the greenback fell more than 0.8% to 146.37, retreating from a two-week high of 149.40 yen hit last week, though analysts said the sharp move lower was largely due to broad dollar weakness.
The prospect of lower borrowing costs saw gold clear $2,500 an ounce for the first time and the dollar dip against the euro, while the yen made a sudden lunge higher that weighed on the Nikkei.
Federal Reserve members Mary Daly and Austan Goolsbee were out over the weekend to flag the possibility of easing in September, while minutes of the last policy meeting due this week should underline the dovish outlook.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks in Jackson Hole on Friday and investors assume he will acknowledge the case for a cut.
