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- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
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- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
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- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
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- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
- How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic
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- It's still 'the economy, stupid,' says US political guru Carville
- Five key dates in the history of the America's Cup
- Zelensky to meet Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
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- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
Asian trade cautious ahead of key rate decisions
Traders in Asia were cautious on Monday after US shares receded, and as anticipation builds for the Bank of Japan to finally ditch its negative interest rate.
Dampened hopes for Fed rate cuts led Wall Street to close lower on Friday, with a sharper-than-expected jump in US wholesale price data reinforcing expectations that the US central bank will stand pat this week.
"Market conditions are unlikely to ease as traders navigate choppy waters ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
"All eyes are on whether the Fed will adjust its rate hike outlook for 2024," he said, and "uncertainty around this pivotal event may temper market activity in the coming days".
The US Federal Reserve is one of a slew of policy decisions this week, including from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.
But analysts expect only one central bank to make a major move -- the Bank of Japan, which wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.
The influential Nikkei business daily reported that the BoJ plans to raise interest rates for the first time since 2007.
Strong wins for workers in annual pay negotiations have also pointed to the bank ending its outlier negative rate policy designed to boost the flagging economy.
Tom Kenny, senior international economist at ANZ, said that even if it does raise rates, guidance from the BoJ's governor Kazuo Ueda "is likely to be dovish".
"He has previously said that policy will remain accommodative after the removal of the (negative interest rate policy) and has ruled out the possibility of successive rate hikes," Kenny noted.
- Mixed morning -
In morning trade on Monday, Tokyo was up 2.1 percent, while other Asian stocks were mixed.
Seoul gained 0.4 percent and Manila added 1.2 percent, but Wellington dropped 0.4 percent and Sydney was down 0.1 percent along with Singapore. Bangkok fell 0.6 percent.
Chinese stocks also diverged as Beijing released key economic indicators including retail sales and economic production.
Hong Kong was down 0.1 percent but Shanghai put on 0.5 percent.
"China's economy had a stronger start to the year than expected, with industrial production and fixed asset investment coming in surprisingly spritely," Harry Murphy Cruise of Moody's Analytics told AFP.
"Still, we should take the latest data with a grain of salt. Today's prints are inflated by this year's bigger Lunar New Year celebrations compared to those last year marred by rapidly rising Covid-19 cases," he said.
"More broadly, headwinds still remain: real estate investment continues to be a drag, deflation's reversal is likely only fleeting and export's outlook is clouded by geopolitical tensions and still-high global interest rates."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.1 percent at 38,521.43 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 16,698.14
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,068.98
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.96 yen from 149.08 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: FLAT at $1.0891
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2736 from $1.2737
Euro/pound: UP at 85.50 pence from 85.48 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $81.40 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $85.62 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 38,714.77 points (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,727.42 (close)
T.Ward--AMWN