Joggers in Shanghai, China, April 10, 2021.
Shen Qilai | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asian markets opened mixed on Monday as investors digested downbeat economic data from China over the weekend while several major markets were closed for the holiday.
Investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020.
China released a slew of worrying economic data, with August factory output, retail sales and investment figures all coming in below expectations. Urban unemployment rose to a six-month high and house prices fell at their fastest annual rate in nine years.
Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Japanese markets are closed for Respect for the Aged Day.
Hong Kong markets are likely to react to disappointing economic data from China. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 17,348 points, slightly lower than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing point of 17,369.09 points.
Typhoon Bebinka has canceled hundreds of flights in China and Shanghai is expected to be hit by the strongest storm since 1949.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index opened up 0.44%.
After a historically weak start to September, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher last week, with S&P 500 Index and high technical content Nasdaq Index Ending the best week of 2024.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.54% to close at 5,626.02 points; the Nasdaq Index rose 0.65% to close at 17,683.98 points; Dow Jones Industrial Average It rose 0.72% to close at 41,393.78 points.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh contributed to this report.
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