Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday as investors digested monetary policy decisions from Japan and China as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s sharp rate cut last week.
Data last Friday showed China’s youth unemployment rate rose for a second straight month to its highest level this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, as the labor market cools down amid a weakening economy.
Despite growing calls for lower interest rates, the People’s Bank of China on Friday unexpectedly left its key benchmark rates on hold.
China’s central bank supplied 234.6 billion yuan ($33.29 billion) to the banking system through open market operations, according to a statement on Monday, in a move to “maintain reasonably sufficient liquidity in the banking system at the end of quarter.” It also lowered the 14-day reverse repo rate to 1.85% from 1.95% set in the previous funding operation in February.
Separately, the U.S. is reportedly mulling a ban on importing and selling cars from China that carry software and hardware for communications or autonomous driving systems.
The Bank of Japan also kept its benchmark interest rate steady at around 0.25% on Friday. Japan’s authorities were closely watching the markets for signs of any rebuild of yen carry trades which could heighten market volatility, Japan’s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said.
Markets in Japan were closed Monday for a public holiday, but futures contract tied to the Nikkei 225 in Chicago were trading at 38,375, compared to the index Friday close of 37,723.91.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.18% to 143.64.
The Reserve Bank of Australia starts its two-day policy meeting on Monday, where central bankers will decide on the country’s monetary policy path on Tuesday. Analysts expect the RBA to keep benchmark interest rate steady at 4.35%, with focus on whether the central bank will veer away from its hawkish stance, after the Fed kicked off an easing cycle with a bold 50-basis-points rate cut.
Singapore’s headline and core inflation both rose more than expected in August, up 2.2% and 2.7% year on year, respectively.
The overall CPI was higher than the forecast of 2.15% in a Reuters poll but cooler than 2.4% in the previous month. The core CPI, which strips out accommodation and private transport, was higher than the 2.6% forecast and 2.5% in July.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.69% to close at 8,152.9
In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.33% to close higher at 2,602.01, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.91% to 755.12.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.2% lower as of its final hour of trading, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.37% to close at 3,212.76.
The Taiwan Weighted Index inched up 0.57% to end at 22,285.53.
The three major U.S. indexes notched weekly gains last week, with the S&P 500 advancing 1.36% to mark its fifth positive week over the past six weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the week with 1.62% gains while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.49%.
On Friday, the 30-stock Dow closed at a record high, gaining 0.09% in the day to 42,063.36. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.19%, ending at 5,702.55, while Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.36% to end at 17,948.32.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC