Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region came under pressure on Monday as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell continued to weigh on the markets, and traders assessed the implications of US president-elect Donald Trump's new trade policies.
Equity benchmarks in Japan and Australia led to losses during the session opening. The Nikkei was 408 points, or 1.07%, lower at 38,232, while the S&P ASX 200 was down 16 points, or 0.16%, at 8,269 as of 5:40 a.m.
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Future contracts in Hong Kong rose while those in Mainland China pointed to a lower start. Asian stocks fell by 3.9% last week, recording their worst plunge in about six months, according to Bloomberg data.
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Fed Chair Powell said on Thursday that the US economy's recent performance has been “remarkably good,” and the economy is "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.”
Post his speech, traders trimmed down the possibility of a quarter-point cut at the December FOMC meet with a 56% chance, down from 80% earlier this week, according to Bloomberg News.
Stocks in the US closed last week lower as they erased more than half of the post-election rally with 'Trump Trades' losing steam. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1.32% and 0.70%, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 2.24%.
Stocks in Japan will take centerstage on Monday as the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will give a media briefing with the traders watchful for indications of the next policy move after the yen weakened sharply.
The dollar increased by 1.4% last week, notching a seventh straight weekly gain while the Treasury yields rose after Powell's commentary. The 10-year yield stood at 4.44%.
Later in the week, China's banks are expected to keep their loan prime rates unchanged while the Bank Indonesia is set to deliver a policy decision.
Crude oil prices were slightly lower on weak outlook in China coupled with concerns of oversupply. Brent crude was trading 0.10% lower at $70.97 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.27% at $66.84.
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