Drone perspective view of the Shanghai skyline at sunrise.
Aerial photo | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Monday as investors awaited key economic data from the US and China later this week, while results from France’s elections overnight suggested a divided parliament.
France’s left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, unexpectedly halted a far-right advance on Sunday, winning the most seats in parliamentary runoff elections but falling short of a majority.
Investors are awaiting the release of U.S. consumer price index data on Thursday to gauge the direction of Federal Reserve interest rates, while China’s inflation rate on Wednesday will provide an indication of the state of the country’s economic recovery.
Decisions from central banks in South Korea, New Zealand and Malaysia are also due to be announced this week but are expected to remain unchanged, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
| Ticker | company | name | price | change | %change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei Stock Average | Nikkei | 40,855.81 | -56.56 | -0.14% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 17,799.61 | united nations | united nations |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7,786.70 | -35.60 | -0.46% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | Shanghai | 2,946.65 | -3.28 | -0.11% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | Korea Composite Stock Price Index | 2,862.50 | +0.27 | +0.01% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 Asia IDX | CNBC 100 | 10,111.37 | -12.45 | -0.12% |
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell slightly and the Tokyo Stock Price Index dropped 0.17%. Japan’s real wages have fallen for 26 consecutive months.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, real wages fell 1.4% in May from a year earlier, but nominal wages rose 1.9% to 297,151 yen ($1,850), the fastest rate of wage growth in 11 months.
In contrast, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.21%, while the small-cap KOSDAQ added 0.42%. Shares in major Samsung Electronics rose 1.49% even as the company’s largest labor union plans to begin a three-day strike on Monday.
Reuters reported that the Samsung Electronics National Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members, has demanded that the company improve its performance-based bonus system and give workers an extra day of annual leave.
It was not immediately clear how many workers would take part in the strike, but a union survey showed about 8,100 members had indicated they would take part as of Monday morning.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1%, on track to post a second straight day of losses.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 17,687, below the HSI’s last closing price of 17,799.61.
In the US on Friday, the latest employment data rekindled hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Indexes to new highs, with both indices closing at record highs.
The Composite Index rose 0.54% to close at 5,567.19, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.90% to close at 18,352.76.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.17%.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
