Asian
stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index retreating from its
highest in two months, as energy shares led losses and investors awaited
policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan later in
the week.
The
MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent to 136.31 as of 9:02 a.m. in
Tokyo after closing Monday at the highest since Aug. 18. The decisions
on monetary policy come after China cut its lending rate last week and
European officials signaled a willingness to add stimulus to combat
flagging growth. The odds the Fed will raise rates at the end of their
two-day policy meeting on Wednesday are slim, with traders seeing a 6
percent chance. Economists are divided on whether the BOJ will
supplement already unprecedented easing on Friday.
Japan’s
Topix index slipped 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.2
percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed. New
Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index added 0.5 percent. Markets in China and
Hong Kong have yet to start trading.
The
Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent on Monday after the
central bank cut interest rates for a sixth time in a year as the
nation’s leaders gather this week to map out a five-year plan for the
world’s second-largest economy. The Shanghai gauge has rebounded 17
percent from this year’s low on Aug. 26 as the government took measures
to stabilize the stock market after a $5 trillion rout and policy makers
introduced more measures to boost growth amid the slowest economic
expansion in a quarter of a century.
Source: Bloomberg
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