Asia-Pacific markets fell as investors look ahead to China’s inflation figures and trade balance later this week.
China will release its trade balance for Tuesday and inflation data on Wednesday, which will give clues to the country’s recovery trajectory.
On Monday, Thailand releases its inflation data for July and Indonesia reports its second quarter growth data.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 1% on its open, while the Topix fell 0.52%. Japan’s central bank will release its summary of opinions for its July 28 meeting, where it adjusted its stance on its yield curve control policy.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.25%, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.16% and the Kosdaq dropped 0.78%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is also set to fall, with futures at 19,470, compared to the HSI’s close of 19,539.46.
On Friday in the U.S., the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slumped for a fourth straight session, and notched their worst weeks since March, as traders seemed to book profits following the latest corporate earnings releases and U.S. jobs data.
The S&P 500 shed 0.53%, the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.36%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost or 0.43%.