Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Mr Jorn Oberg Utzon, at first light as the sun rises over Sydney harbor and city center skyscrapers.
Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly higher Monday, while the Reserve Bank of Australia will kickstart its two-day policy meeting where it is expected to hold its cash rate steady at 3.6%, according to a Reuters poll.
“The RBA are likely to find themselves in a tougher position than recent meetings. There is real tension building in the data flow,” the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note, citing how the country’s August CPI indicates “material upside risks to Q3 inflation” as well as a a cyclical upswing in the activity data. However, CBA’s economists also pointed to signs of softer employment and moderating wages growth.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,840, slightly higher than its last close of 8,787.7.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 26,290, higher than the HSI’s last close of 26,128.2.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a lower open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 45,320, and its counterpart in Osaka at 45,200, compared with the previous close of 45,354.99.
On Friday stateside, the three major averages climbed following the release of crucial U.S. inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 299.97 points, or 0.65%, to close at 46,247.29. The S&P 500 added 0.59% to close at 6,643.70, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.44% to settle at 22,484.07.
Friday’s rally snapped a three-day losing streak for the major indexes, but still ended the week down. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slid 0.7% and 0.3%, marking each index’s first losing week in four. The Dow shed 0.2%.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
