Asian Shares Retreat As Investors Await Inflation Readings

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday after a busy week of central bank meetings. A cautious undertone prevailed as the trade war between the U.S. and China escalated and Federal Reserve Altanta head Bostic trimmed his FOMC forecast to just one rate cut this year.

The Japanese yen halted its decline amid fears that authorities could intervene again in the currency markets.

The yuan rebounded sharply against the dollar after China's central bank signaled its support for the managed currency by setting a firmer fix for the currency.

Gold was marginally higher in Asian trading while oil ticked higher after a three-day drop on signs of a tightening market, driven by sanctions, geopolitical risks and OPEC+ supply cuts.

Chinese markets fluctuated before ending notably lower as Beijing announced new guidelines to phase out U.S. microprocessors from Intel, INTC and Advanced Micro Devices in government PCs and servers.

The guidelines also aim to replace Microsoft's Windows operating system and foreign-made database software with domestic alternatives, according to the Financial Times.

China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.71 percent to 3,026.31 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.16 percent to 16,473.64.

Japanese markets fell sharply as the threat of currency intervention from authorities stalled the yen's decline. The Nikkei average fell 1.16 percent to 40,414.12, snapping a four-day winning streak ahead of Tokyo inflation data due later in the week.

The broader Topix index settled 1.26 percent lower at 2,777.64. Staffing agency Recruit Holdings tumbled 3.6 percent while Toyota Motor, Honda, Nissan, Tokyo Electron and Sony dropped 1-3 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower in cautious trade as investors awaited this week's industrial production and retail sales data for directional cues.

Traders also awaited cues from U.S. and European inflation data this week, with the U.S. core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index likely to show a 0.3 percent rise in February, keeping the annual pace at 2.8 percent.

The benchmark Kospi average settled 0.40 percent lower at 2,737.57., extending losses for a second day running.

Automakers Hyundai Motor fell 1.6 percent after announcing it would expand eco-friendly mobility services in Red Sea coastal development project.

Australian markets bucked the weak regional trend to end higher, led by mining and bank stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.53 percent to 7,811.90 ahead of key Australian inflation data due later in the week. The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.56 percent at 8,071.50.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index finished 0.74 percent higher at 12,067.03.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday but scored strong weekly gains as Treasury yields hit one-week lows on dovish Fed commentary.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2 percent to notch a record closing high while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent and the Dow dropped 0.8 percent.