The Kospi inched up 0.09%, the Shanghai composite dropped 0.21%, the Shenzhen component lost 1.51%, the Nikkei 225 added 0.36%, and the ASX 200 jumped 0.31%
Markets in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
Australian shares reversed earlier losses as the benchmark ASX 200 jumped 0.31%. The energy sector advanced 1.18% while the materials sector erased some of its losses but still traded down 0.36%. The heavily-weighted financials subindex gained 0.68%.
Japanese markets rose, where the Nikkei 225 added 0.36% while the Topix index gained 0.69%.
Tech giant Rakuten climbed 18% after the company said Friday that it will issue new shares to raise $2.2 billion in capital to compete with its U.S. rivals. Japan Post is expected to take a 8.3% stake in Rakuten, while China’s Tencent will take 3.6% and U.S. retail giant Walmart takes a 0.9% stake.
In South Korea, the Kospi wavered between gains and losses, inching up 0.09%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 0.94%.
Chinese mainland shares struggled for gains: The Shanghai composite dropped 0.21% while the Shenzhen component lost 1.51%.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is due to meet on March 16 and 17 and some analysts expect the U.S. central bank to revise up its GDP forecast, following a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans.
Some FOMC members might think rates will have to move higher sooner than they anticipated last December, analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a morning note.
For the Fed, the robust recovery and any shift in momentum in the dot plot profile will raise communication challenges about how long rates will stay low, the analysts said.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to tie the path of rates to a comprehensive economic improvement whilst stressing tolerance for a modest inflation overshoot, the ANZ analysts added.
