Movements for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), created by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX) will be displayed outside the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, October 2, 2020.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Asian and Pacific markets rose Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting this week.
Australian equities have suffered some losses as the benchmark ASX 200 traded near flat. The energy sector increased by 0.77%, while the materials sector decreased by 0.89%. The heavily weighted financial sub-index reversed the losses to trade 0.2%.
Japanese markets rose in early trading, where the Nikkei 225 increased its profit by 0.53% before trading near the flat line. The Topix index added 0.21%. In South Korea, the Kospi fell by 0.31%.
The Federal Public Markets Committee will meet on March 16 and 17, and some analysts expect the US Federal Reserve to revise its GDP forecast, following a $ 1.9 billion fiscal stimulus package that includes direct payments of up to $ 1,400 will send to most Americans.
“Some FOMC members will think that rates will have to move higher earlier than they expected last December,” analysts from ANZ Research wrote in a morning note.
“For the Fed, the robust recovery and any shift in momentum in the dot-com profile will create communication challenges over how long rates will remain low,” the analysts said.
FOMC members predict each quarter where interest rates will go in the short, medium and long term. These projections are visually represented in maps and are called a dot plot.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “is likely to commit to a comprehensive economic improvement while emphasizing tolerance for a moderate inflation overrun,” ANZ analysts added.
Currencies and oil
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar traded almost flat at 91,630 against a basket of its peers, declining from levels to 92.00 last week.
The Japanese yen weakened to the 109 level and traded at 109.04 against the greenback compared to a previous high around 108.97. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar of $ 0.7767 changed hands, rising from a previous level around $ 0.7737.
Oil prices rose during Asian trading hours on Monday due to growing optimism around the recovery in demand. U.S. crude rose 0.37% to $ 65.85 a barrel.