People look at the city skyline from the Bunkyo Community Center Observatory in Tokyo on August 14, 2024.
Philip Fong | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Monday, with Japan Nikkei 225 led the decline in the region, following a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday.
US nonfarm payrolls rose by 142,000, below the 161,000 increase estimated by economists polled by Dow Jones. On the other hand, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, in line with expectations.
Traders in Asia assess Japan’s revised GDP figures for the second quarter and China’s consumer price index report.
Japan Q2 GDP reached 2.9% on an annual basis, lower than the 3.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters and the 3.1% expected. The slower GDP growth figure will limit the Bank of Japan’s options for raising interest rates.
China’s inflation rate CPI rose 0.6% year-on-year, below the 0.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a month-on-month basis, CPI rose 0.4%, below the 0.5% expected.
The Nikkei lost 2.14% while the broader Topix fell 1.99%. Japanese Yen fell 0.3% against the US dollar to 142.71, off a nine-month low hit on Friday.
Yen traders will be keeping a close eye on equities as risk sentiment picks up and the unwinding of the yen-yield spread trade is expected to continue, Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” She also expects some sharp equity sell-offs this month.
Korea Kospi fell 0.88% while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.37%.
of Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.7%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index lost 1.93%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index fell 1.09%. Early Monday morning, Chinese electrical appliance maker Midea Group announced the listing of 492.1 million shares in Hong Kong, with an offering price ranging from HK$52 to HK$54.80 per share.
At the top end, the offering would be worth HK$26.97 billion ($3.46 billion), making it the city’s biggest listing in more than three years.
On Friday, S&P 500 posted its worst week since March 2023. Heavy tech Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst week since March 2022.
In Friday’s trading session, the general index fell 1.73% while the Nasdaq fell 2.55%. Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.01%.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
