The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) signage, operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), is displayed outside the stock exchange in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, October 2, 2020.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets rose on Monday, ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting in the United States.
Australian stocks reduced some losses, as the ASX 200 benchmark was traded almost flat. The energy sector gained 0.77%, while the materials sector fell 0.89%. The heavy finance sub-index resumed losses to trade up 0.2%.
Japanese markets rose at the start of trading, where the Nikkei 225 gained 0.53% before being traded near the flat line. The Topix index added 0.21%. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.31%.
The Federal Open Market Committee is due to meet on March 16 and 17 and some analysts expect the U.S. central bank to revise its GDP forecast after a $ 1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that will send direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans.
“Some FOMC members may think that rates will have to go up earlier than they anticipated last December,” analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a morning note.
“For the Fed, the robust recovery and any change in momentum in the point chart profile will increase communication challenges about how long rates will remain low,” analysts said.
Each quarter, FOMC members predict where interest rates will go in the short, medium and long term. These projections are represented visually in graphs and are called a point graph.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “is likely to link the rate trajectory to a comprehensive economic improvement, while emphasizing tolerance for a modest surpass of inflation,” added ANZ analysts.
Coins and oil
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar traded almost stable at 91.630 against a basket of its peers, falling from levels above 92.00 last week.
The Japanese yen weakened to level 109, trading at 109.04 against the 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 the Asian trading session, due to growing optimism about the recovery in demand. US crude rose 0.37% to $ 65.85 a barrel.