The Melbourne skyline is reflected in the Maribyrnong River in the early morning light on April 18, 2023.
William West | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower Tuesday as investors assessed comments from the European Central Bank officials signaling that rate cuts may be on the horizon for the world’s largest economic bloc.
In Asia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.28% lower at 7,766.70, as Australia’s retail sales growth missed Reuters’ poll estimates. Sales in April rose 0.1% compared with March.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.11% to end at 38,855.37, while the broad-based Topix closed marginally higher at 2,768.50.
South Korea’s Kospi ended flat at 2,722.85, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.36% to end at 851.01.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.1% lower, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index fell 0.68%.
In a speech Monday, Olli Rehn, ECB governing council member and head of Finland’s central bank, stressed inflation in the euro area was falling in a “sustained way.” He added: “The time is thus ripe in June to ease the monetary policy stance and start cutting rates.”
Inflation in the euro zone held steady at 2.4% in April, marking the seventh straight month it has been below 3%, despite a slight rebound in December. The data for May will be out Friday.
“Barring major surprises, at this point in time there is enough in what we see to remove the top level of restriction,” ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The comments come ahead of the central bank’s next meeting on June 6. Markets are now indicating a very high chance of a quarter-percentage-point cut to the ECB’s main rate, from 4% currently.
U.S. markets return to trade today after being closed Monday for Memorial Day, with stock futures for all three major indexes rising.
Futures for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.09%, while those tied to the S&P500 were up 0.13%. Nasdaq futures saw the most gains, rising 0.21%.
— CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
