Asia markets are mixed ahead of Fed and BOJ decisions this week; Australia and China markets closed

Soegeefx AppsAsia MarketAsia markets are mixed ahead of Fed and BOJ decisions this week; Australia and China markets closed

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Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

  • Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report in the U.S. on Friday revealed hiring and wage growth picked up in May.
  • A few Asian markets are closed for a holiday Monday, including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
  • This week in Asia, investors will be looking at Japan’s first-quarter gross domestic product numbers on Monday, followed by the Bank of Japan’s rate decision on Friday.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday revealed hiring and wage growth picked up in May.

This adds to the narrative the Fed doesn’t have to rush to lower interest rates. Traders don’t expect the Federal Open Market Committee to cut rates at its meeting this week or the next meeting in July.

This week in Asia, investors will assess Japan’s revised first-quarter gross domestic product numbers on Monday, which came in at an annualized contraction of 1.8%. This was softer than the 2% contraction initially reported and also lower than the 1.9% revised contraction expected in a Reuters poll of economists.

Separately, the Bank of Japan’s rate decision will come on Friday, while China and India’s inflation numbers for May will be released on Wednesday.

TICKER  COMPANY  NAME  PRICE  CHANGE  %CHANGE 
.N225 Nikkei 225 Index *NIKKEI 39038.16 354.23 0.92
.HSI Hang Seng Index *HSI 18366.95 -109.85 -0.59
.AXJO S&P/ASX 200 *ASX 200 7860 38.2 0.49
.SSEC Shanghai *SHANGHAI 3051.28 2.48 0.08
.KS11 KOSPI Index *KOSPI 2701.22 -21.45 -0.79
.FTFCNBCA CNBC 100 ASIA IDX *CNBC 100 9730.04 -32.23 -0.33

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.92% to close at 39,038.16, while the broad-based Topix gained 1% to 2,782.49 after the GDP announcement.

In contrast, the South Korean Kospi closed down 0.79% at 2,701.17 and the small cap Kosdaq slipped 0.17%, snapping a five-day winning streak and ending at 864.71

A few Asian markets are closed for a holiday Monday, including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

On Wall Street on Friday, the S&P 500 ended flat after touching an intraday record-high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.22% and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.23%.

Despite the losses, all three major averages notched a winning week. The Dow posted a 0.29% gain, while the S&P 500 added nearly 1.32% and the Nasdaq advanced 2.38% for the week.

Source : cnbc

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