Asian markets opened the week mostly higher on Monday, with investors weighing Japan’s political shake-up and key regional economic updates. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.95% after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation on Sunday, following mounting pressure after last year’s election defeat. The broader Topix index also added 0.51%. In South Korea, the Kospi edged up 0.15%, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq gained 0.47%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, however, slipped 0.38%.
In Hong Kong, Hang Seng index futures traded at 25,344, slightly lower than the previous close of 25,417.98, as investors awaited China’s August trade data for further direction. On Wall Street, U.S. markets ended mixed after briefly hitting record highs, as traders increased bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts beginning this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 220.43 points, or 0.48%, to 45,400.86. The S&P 500 slipped 20.58 points, or 0.32%, to 6,481.50, while the Nasdaq dipped 7.31 points, or 0.03%, to 21,700.39.
For the week, the Dow lost 0.3%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq rose 1.1%. Investors now await U.S. inflation data due Thursday. As futures traders boosted their bets on consecutive rate cuts by the Fed beginning this month—a 50 basis point decrease is now being considered—the three major U.S. indices first shot to all-time highs following the data.
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