Asia-Pacific stocks lower; China’s benchmark lending rate release ahead
Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded lower Monday morning, with investors looking ahead to the release of China’s benchmark lending rate.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.49% while the Topix index shed 0.42%. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.63% lower.
Shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.4%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.22% lower.
China is set to announce its latest loan prime rates (LPR) at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN. Analysts and traders in a recent Reuters poll expect no change to either the one-year or the five-year LPR.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus situation in parts of North Asia such as Japan and South Korea remains severe and could weigh on investor sentiment.
New coronavirus cases in South Korea hit a fresh record high on Sunday, according to local news agency Yonhap. Over in Japan, the country’s capital Tokyo saw its monthly tally of new coronavirus cases topping 10,000 for the first time on Sunday, according to Kyodo News.
Reference: CNBC
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