The Reserve Bank of Australia has kickstarted its two-day meeting which could see an interest rate cut on Tuesday.The Reserve Bank of Australia has kickstarted its two-day meeting which could see an interest rate cut on Tuesday.
Doctoregg | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower Monday, with focus on Japan’s fourth-quarter economic growth data, while investors also awaited a slew of central bank decisions from the region this week.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.73%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,180, compared to the index’s previous close of 39,149.43.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 22,521, lower than the HSI’s last close of 22,620.33.
Japan and Thailand are slated to release their fourth-quarter GDP data later in the day.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kickstarted its two-day meeting which could see an interest rate cut on Tuesday. Indonesia and New Zealand’s central banks are also expected to announce their rate decisions on Wednesday.
In the U.S., the three major averages closed mixed Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 165.35 points, or 0.37%, closing at 44,546.08. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.01% to 6,114.63, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.41% to close at 20,026.77.
On a weekly basis, the three major averages logged gains, as sentiment improved following more certainty around U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariff plans, while new inflation data turned out to be more constructive than first expected. Traders also shrugged off data on Friday showing a 0.9% slump in retail sales for January, worse than the 0.2% decline anticipated by Dow Jones.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
Discover more from World Byte News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
