Asia-Pacific equity markets began the week on a softer footing on Monday ahead of a busy economic calendar, following Moody’s downgrade of the United States' credit rating late last week.
By 11:05 am AEST (1:05 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 had slipped 0.4%, South Korea’s Kospi 200 dropped 0.6%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%.
Investors await a broad set of Chinese economic releases, including industrial production figures, retail sales, unemployment, and fixed asset investment, while the Reserve Bank of Australia begins its two-day policy meeting.
Last week, Moody’s Ratings downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, citing structural challenges in financing the country’s growing budget deficit and rising debt-servicing costs amid high interest rates.
Despite the downgrade, the U.S. markets ended last week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% on Friday, the S&P 500 advanced 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%.
In commodities, Brent crude oil climbed 1.4% to US$65.41 per barrel. However, spot gold fell 1.1%, trading at US$3,204.45 per ounce.
Chinese equities closed last week in negative territory, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.4% during Friday's session to 3,367.5 and the CSI 300 falling 0.5% to 3,889.1.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.5% to 23,345.1, while India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.2% to 82,330.6.
European markets fared better. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 8,684.6, Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% to 23,767.4, and France’s CAC 40 ended 0.4% higher at 7,886.7.
