Asia markets fall ahead of economic data release, yen remains volatile on BOJ nomination report

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were down on Monday as investors look ahead to a week of crucial economic data releases, including the U.S. consumer price index that will determine the Federal Reserve’s path forward, CNBC reported.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 0.88% and the Topix was down 0.47% as the Japanese yen continued to remain volatile after a report that Japan will nominate Kazuo Ueda as its next central bank governor.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond stood at 0.5%, hovering around the BOJ’s upper ceiling of its tolerance range. In South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.72%, while the Kosdaq erased earlier gains and traded flat.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.5% and the Hang Seng Tech index dropped 0.31%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.92%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21% to close the session at 7,417.8, and the S&P/NZX 50 finished 0.85% lower at 12,075.18 as New Zealand braced for further impact from tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Stocks on Wall Street ended the week on Friday with the S&P 500 up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.61% — both indexes posting the worst week since December after a slew of corporate earnings and Federal Reserve speakers reiterated their hawkish messages that there is more work to be done to tame inflation. The Dow closed nearly 170 points higher.