Asia-Pacific Markets Trade Lower Amid Dampened Expectations for Early Interest Rate Cuts
Asia-Pacific markets traded lower on Monday, following a disappointing U.S. jobs report on Friday that dampened investors’ hopes for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. China’s exports and imports in December beat expectations, with exports rising 10.7% from a year earlier and imports unexpectedly rising 1%. However, this positive news was overshadowed by concerns over Chinese bond yields and the country’s currency, which hit a 16-month low against the dollar.
Mainland China’s benchmark CSI 300 fell 0.27% to 3,722.51, extending losses after closing at its lowest level since September 2024 on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.73% as of its final hour of trade, falling below 19,000 for the first time since last September. India’s Nifty 50 index lost 0.95% and the BSE Sensex was 0.80% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.04% and the Kosdaq dipped 1.35%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.23% to close at 8,191.9. Japan markets were closed for a holiday. Looking ahead, the Bank of Korea is expected to meet this Thursday, and Australia is slated to post its unemployment rate for December on the same day. China will be posting its GDP for the fourth quarter of 2024 on Friday, alongside retail sales and industrial output data.
U.S. stocks dropped on Friday after the hot jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 696.75 points, or 1.63%, to close at 41,938.45. The S&P 500 slid 1.54% to 5,827.04, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.63% to 19,161.63.
