Shares in Asian markets were mostly traded lower on Monday, weighed down by anticipation of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate rises to cope with the worst inflation in a generation.
At 9.35 a.m. local time in Thailand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.66%, while South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.27%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.08%.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.21%, and Shanghai Composite in mainland China remained near its previous closing levels.
On Friday, the U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July, bringing the labor market back to pre-pandemic levels. Since April 2020, the United States has added 22 million jobs. In July, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, a half-century low and the same as it was in February 2020 before the Covid-19 outbreak hit.
Positive US job data Friday strengthened the case for further Fed monetary tightening. Treasury yields and the dollar have risen as a result. It signaled that investors anticipate a recession as the Fed applies economic brakes.
