Vehicles are reflected in a window as electronic boards display stock information at the Australian Securities Exchange, operated by ASX.
Lisa Maree | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets were set to trade higher on Monday.
Futures tied to the Australia’s ASX 200 pointed to a near flat open for the benchmark index. Nikkei futures indicated to opening gains in Japan.
The session follows after last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 stateside posted their fourth and second consecutive negative week of losses. U.S. stock index futures were little changed.
Last week, data showed strong comeback by the services sector both in the U.S. and Europe as businesses reopened following prolonged lockdown and benefited from a global demand recovery.
“The debate in financial markets is now not so much about how quickly GDP can recover but rather the shape of recoveries,” wrote analysts at ANZ Research in a morning note. They explained it will take time to answer questions around inflation, but expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to guide the market appropriately.
“We see little prospect that Fed speakers will change recent guidance that price increases are transitory, but that the Fed will respond appropriately if not,” the analysts wrote.
Currencies and oil
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded around 90.019 against a basket of its peers, climbing from a previous low near 89.70.
Among the major currency pairs, the Japanese yen changed hands at 108.91, weakening from levels near 108.60 previously. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7729, staying relatively flat compared to its previous close.
Oil prices rose Monday during Asian trading hours. U.S. crude was up 0.27% at $63.75 a barrel.
