Asian Shares Mixed As Investors Ponder Fed's Rate Path

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday as investors wondered how U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration will reshape the world's largest economy in the short and long term.

Traders also pondered the U.S. monetary policy path after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered its widely expected 25-bps rate cut last week and projected it would do so twice more this year amid a cooling labor market.

China's Shanghai Composite index edged up by 0.22 percent to 3,828.58 as a group of senior U.S. House representatives arrived in China on Sunday for talks with President Xi Jinping's government.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.76 percent to 26,344.14. BYD Co. shares fell 2.3 percent after reports suggested that Warren Buffett's investment firm has offloaded all its stake in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker.

Japanese markets rebounded after falling on Friday following the Bank of Japan's announcement of sale of exchange-traded funds.

The Nikkei average surged 0.99 percent to 45,493.66 while the broader Topix index settled 0.49 percent higher at 3,163.17.

Chip-related shares logged big gains, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron climbing 3.2 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

Seoul stocks rose notably to set a new record high, with tech shares leading the surge. The Kospi average rose 0.68 percent to 3,468.65.

Samsung Electronics jumped 4.8 percent after it secured approval from Nvidia Corp. for its high-bandwidth memory chips.

Australian markets ended higher, led by mining and gold stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.43 percent to 8,810.90 after the Reserve Bank of Australia told a parliamentary hearing that the economy is now back in a cyclical "upturn". The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.45 percent at 9,102.10.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NX-50 index fell 0.68 percent to 13,141.54, giving back gains from the previous session.

Oil prices gained in Asian trade amid increased geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East.

The dollar held gains and gold jumped to a new record high above $3,700 per ounce as traders looked ahead to data on the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge and a dense slate of Federal Reserve remarks.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the major averages all reaching new record closing highs, amid expectations of additional rate cuts this year and following reports of a cordial tone of U.S.-China negotiations.

President Trump described a call with his Chinese part Xi Jinping that included discussion on selling blockbuster app TikTok as 'very productive' although no final decision was reached.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 added half a percent and the Dow gained 0.4 percent.