Asian markets started the week in a mixed session as investors looked forward to this week’s central bank meetings in major economies, including Europe, Japan, and the United States, as well as U.S. inflation data that is likely to affect the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy course.
As of 9.40 A.M. Bangkok time, the Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.69% and continued to hover near 33-year highs.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.32%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.22%, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China fell 0.30%.
Australia’s markets are closed for a holiday.
This week sees meetings from three major central banks: the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S. on June 13-14, the European Central Bank on Thursday, and the Bank of Japan on Friday.
The S&P 500 index closed last week around its highest level since August, marking its fourth consecutive week of advances on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 gained 0.12%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.16% last week.
Citigroup strategists have said that the Federal Reserve may be forced to accept the same reality as other central banks, such as the Bank of Canada: that additional tightening remains necessary to get inflation to 2%.
Citigroup forecasts a 25 basis point hike from the Fed.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the markets currently price in a 71% chance that the Fed would maintain its current policy at its upcoming meeting on June 13-14.
