A Chinese flag is seen in the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai, China, on September 18, 2023.
Raul Ariano | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as investors digested monetary policy decisions from Japan and China and a sharp interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve last week.
Data on Friday showed China’s youth unemployment rate rose for a second month in a row, hitting its highest point this year. National Bureau of StatisticsAs the economy weakens, the labor market cools.
The People’s Bank of China unexpectedly kept its key benchmark interest rate unchanged on Friday despite growing calls for a rate cut.
According to reports, the United States is considering banning the import and sale of cars from China carrying communications or autonomous driving system software and hardware.
The Bank of Japan also kept its benchmark interest rate steady at around 0.25%.
Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s chief currency diplomat, said Japanese authorities are watching the market closely for signs of a re-establishment of the yen carry trade, which could exacerbate market volatility.
Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday on Monday, but futures contracts linked to Chicago’s Nikkei 225 index were trading at 38,530 points, compared with Friday’s close of 37,723.91 points.
The yen weakened slightly to 144.18.
The Reserve Bank of Australia begins a two-day policy meeting on Monday, with the central bank chief expected to decide the country’s monetary policy path on Tuesday.
Singapore is about to release its consumer price index for August. According to a Reuters survey, core CPI is expected to increase by 2.6% year-on-year, compared with 2.5% in July. The overall annual CPI growth rate is expected to have dropped to 2.15%, compared with 2.40% last month.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.74%.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.25%, reversing a lower opening, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.98%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The CSI 300 Index rose 0.3%, while the CSI 300 Index rose 0.28%.
Taiwan’s weighted index edged up 0.39%.
All three major U.S. stock indexes posted weekly gains last week S&P 500 Index It rose 1.36%, its fifth weekly gain in the past six weeks. this Dow Jones Industrial Average The week ended up 1.62%, while technology-heavy stocks Nasdaq Index An increase of 1.49%.
On Friday, the 30-stock Dow Jones Index closed at a record high, rising 0.09% on the day to 42,063.36 points. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.19% to close at 5,702.55 points; the Nasdaq Index fell 0.36% to close at 17,948.32 points.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
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