A view of the Tokyo headquarters of the Bank of Japan.
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Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Monday as investors focused on several major central bank decisions coming this week, including the Bank of Japan and the People’s Bank of China.
The decision of the Federal Reserve in the United States on December 18 will also become the primary issue that investors pay attention to. The CME Fedwatch tool predicts that the probability of a 25 basis point interest rate cut is 96%.
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep interest rates unchanged when it releases its decision on Thursday, while the People’s Bank of China will announce its preferential lending rate on Friday. The one-year LPR affects corporate loans and most household loans in China, while the five-year LPR is the benchmark for mortgage rates.
Traders on Monday will assess economic data from China, including industrial production, retail sales and house price data for November.
Korean Cospi It was up 0.83% in early trade, with the small-cap Kosdaq up 1.01%.
This comes after the country’s parliament convened Impeach South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol on Saturday. The country’s Finance Ministry reportedly said on Monday it will continue to monitor Financial and foreign exchange markets after impeachment.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.16%, while the Topix gained 0.21%.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index It opened down 0.23% on the day.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s futures Hang Seng Index The Hang Seng Index closed at 19,965 points, a slightly weaker opening than the Hang Seng Index’s closing point of 19,971.24 points.
Friday in America, Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell for the seventh consecutive session on Friday, down 0.2%, the longest losing streak since 2020.
on the other hand, Nasdaq Index Up 0.12%, broad-based S&P 500 Index There was little change at the close, closing at 6,051.09.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
