Asian shares were hesitant on Monday as a U.S. holiday made for slow trading ahead of minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting and a reading on core inflation that could add to the risk of interest rates heading higher for longer.
Geopolitical tensions were ever present with North Korea firing more missiles and talk of Russia ramping up attacks in Ukraine before Friday’s one- year anniversary of the invasion.
There were reports the White House planned new sanctions on Russia, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned Beijing of consequences should it provide material support, including weapons, to Moscow.
All of which made for a cautious start and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) nudged up 0.3%, after sliding 2.2% last week. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) was flat, as was South Korea (.KS11).
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) firmed 0.9% as Beijing kept interest rates steady as expected, having already poured liquidity into the banking system in recent days.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures both added 0.3%, extending last week’s gains.
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