Investors are closely watching the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting after the best week in U.S. stocks since November. Asian stocks saw a mixed start on Monday with U.S. futures trending higher and oil prices falling.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fluctuated in morning trading, influenced by a 1.7% year-on-year decrease in core machinery orders in June. The U.S. dollar also weakened against the Japanese yen.
Market sentiment has been heavily influenced by factors such as positive U.S. retail sales, potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in September, and global economic uncertainties. Currency analyst Luca Santos mentioned that signals from the Federal Reserve, weak U.S. job market data, and other global factors have contributed to recent foreign exchange market turmoil.
All eyes are on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later in the week. Economists predict that Powell may hint at the Fed’s future actions regarding the economy.
In other parts of Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose, while the Kospi in Seoul declined. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite also saw gains. Bangkok’s SET increased after reports of a GDP growth driven by tourism.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq composite all recorded gains, with optimism initially rising due to positive economic reports before some mixed signals caused a slight pullback in the bond market.
In the energy sector, U.S. crude and Brent crude both experienced minor losses in trading.
The euro has been strengthening against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange rate edging up slightly.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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