Asian markets experienced mostly negative movements on Tuesday amidst cautious trading ahead of upcoming central bank meetings worldwide.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.5% to 38,268.72 during morning trading, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 7,915.10. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.7% to 2,747.06, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.8% to 17,093.32. Similarly, the Shanghai Composite in China decreased by 0.7% to 2,871.62.
Jing Yi Tan, an analyst at Mizuho Bank, remarked, “Markets may be struggling to anticipate the outcomes of the central bank meetings scheduled for this week.”
In economic news from Japan, the government reported a slight decrease in the nation’s unemployment rate for June to 2.5%, down from 2.6% the previous month, marking the first improvement in five months.
Meanwhile, in the United States, stock indexes closed with mixed results on Monday, setting the stage for a week packed with earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 5,463.54, the Dow Jones slipped 0.1% to 40,539.93, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% to 17,370.20.
Among notable stock movements, ON Semiconductor surged 11.5% following stronger-than-expected quarterly profits, while McDonald’s gained 3.7% despite reporting earnings and revenue slightly below forecasts.
Looking ahead, major tech companies like Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon are set to report their earnings later in the week, influencing market sentiment given their substantial market capitalizations.
In commodity markets, U.S. crude oil fell to $75.62 a barrel, and Brent crude slipped to $79.59. Treasury yields remained stable, with the 10-year yield dipping slightly to 4.17%. The U.S. dollar saw marginal movements against major currencies, trading at 154.05 Japanese yen and $1.0816 against the euro.
Investors are closely monitoring developments as they await signals from central banks regarding future monetary policy decisions amid evolving economic conditions globally.
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