Signaling for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX) is listed on the Tokyo, Japan Stock Exchange on Friday, October 2, 2020.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets rose on Monday ahead of this week’s State Reserve meeting.
Australian equities reduced some losses as the ASX 200 benchmark traded near flat. The energy sector gained 0.77%, while the materials sector decreased by 0.89%. The heavily weighted financial sub-index withdrew losses to trade by 0.2%.
Japanese markets rose at the beginning of trading, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.53% before trading close to the fixed line. The Topix index added 0.21%. In South Korea, Kospi fell 0.31%.
The Federal Open Market Committee is set to meet on March 16 and 17, and some analysts expect the US central bank to revise its GDP forecast, following a $ 1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that will send direct payments up to $ 1,400 to most Americans.
“Some FOMC members may believe that rates will have to go faster than they anticipated in December last year,” analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a note this morning.
“For the Fed, the robust recovery and any change in momentum in the point chart profile will raise communication challenges about how long rates will remain low,” analysts said.
Each quarter, FOMC members forecast where interest rates will go in the short, medium and long term. These projections are visually represented in diagrams and are called points.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “is likely to pave the way for rates of comprehensive economic improvement, while emphasizing tolerance for modest inflation overruns,” ANZ analysts added.
Coins and oil
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar traded close to 91.630 against a basket of its colleagues, falling from levels of over 92.00 last week.
The Japanese yen weakened to 109, trading at 109.04 against the green dollar, compared to a previous high of around 108.97. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7767, rising from a previous level around $ 0.7737.
Oil prices rose on Monday during trading hours in Asia amid growing optimism over the recovery in demand. American crude rose 0.37% to $ 65.85 a barrel.