Stocks in Asia opened mixed as investors focused on the outlook for inflation and interest rates ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision later Tuesday.
Shares ticked higher in Japan, but down in South Korea and Australia. US equity futures rose after the S&P 500 closed at its lowest level in more than a month on Monday. The benchmark was dragged down by declines in big-tech firms including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
Crude rose 1.7%, while gold futures fell 0.2%. Bitcoin dipped 0.8% to trade around $16,600-level.
Domestic benchmark indices snapped their two-day losing streak to close higher. Broader market indices underperformed their larger peers.
Overseas investors in Indian equities remained net sellers for the third day in a row on Monday. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded equities worth Rs 538.1 crore and domestic institutional investors continued their buying spree for the ninth day, mopping up equities worth Rs 687.3 crore, according to the NSE.
Rupee appreciated against U.S. dollar to close near the day’s high, supported by strong performance by domestic equities.
At 6:50 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty — an early barometer of India’s benchmark Nifty 50 — was up at 0.21% to 18,449.