Investing.com - Asia-Pacific markets exhibited a mixed performance on Monday, reacting to the stronger-than-expected US jobs report released on Friday, which indicated an increase in hiring and wage growth in May.
By 11:05 am AEST, South Korea's KOSPI 200 had fallen by 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 saw a 0.4% rise. Meanwhile, several markets including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan remained closed due to public holidays.
The robust US jobs report influenced the prevailing sentiment that the Federal Reserve doesn't need to hasten interest rate cuts. Market participants do not anticipate the Federal Open Market Committee to lower rates in its imminent meeting this week or the subsequent meeting in July.
Japan's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures were released on Monday, showing a contraction of 1.8%, slightly better than the 2% contraction forecasted.
Investors are gearing up for several significant events in the week ahead. May's inflation figures for China and India will be announced on Wednesday, followed by the US on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan interest rate decisions will also be closely watched by market participants.
On Wall Street, last Friday saw the S&P 500 closing flat after reaching an intraday record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite edged down 0.2%.
Despite these losses, all three major indexes recorded gains for the week, with the Dow posting a 0.29% gain, the S&P 500 adding nearly 1.32%, and the Nasdaq advancing 2.38% for the week