©Reuters.
Investing.com — Most Asian stocks fell on Monday as persistent concerns about persistently high long-term interest rates triggered profit-taking in tech stocks, while Japanese markets hit record highs ahead of key inflation data. has been updated.
Tech stocks suffered heavy profit-taking after last week’s strong rally, as optimism about artificial intelligence appears to be fading. Mild trading on Wall Street on Friday also provided a moderate clue, with U.S. stock futures barely moving on Monday after hitting a record high.
Further clues expected this week on a series of key economic indicators, particularly US inflation and interest rates, also kept risk appetite largely subdued.
Chinese stocks fell as the rebound rally stalled. PMI is awaited
The China and SSEC indexes fell 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, on Monday, retreating from two- and three-month highs, as the recent rebound appears to be losing steam.
The Hong Kong index also fell 0.6%, retreating from its highest level in about three months.
While the Chinese government rolled out a series of financial stimulus measures, it also tightened regulations on the stock market to boost investor confidence. The measures have had some success, with China’s benchmark indexes rebounding sharply from multi-year lows through much of February.
But Chinese markets will face a new test this week with key figures for February to be released on Friday. The findings are expected to provide further clues about the economic recovery in Asia’s largest economy.
Asian stocks fell overall as the rally in tech stocks subsided. South Korea’s index fell 0.5%, while Australia’s index remained flat.
Indian index futures showed a slightly weaker trend, although there was still a chance that the index could hit a new record high earlier in the day.
Japanese stocks hit record high; CPI inflation data also available
Japanese stocks were a major outlier in Asian markets on Monday, extending recent gains to a new all-time high.
The index rose by 0.7% to a record high of 49,420.0 points, and the composite index rose by 0.8% to a record high of 2,686.27 points.
The Japanese market’s rally included an element of rebound trading after local markets were closed for a long weekend. But Monday’s rally was also a continuation of a long rally in Japanese stocks, driven by AI-driven strength in domestic tech and semiconductor manufacturing stocks and expectations that the Bank of Japan will remain ultra-dovish for an extended period of time.
Inflation statistics to be released on Tuesday are expected to keep inflation within the Bank of Japan’s annual target of 2%, further reducing the central bank’s incentive to tighten policy aggressively.