The flags of China and Australia are seen on the tables where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong held their bilateral meeting at Parliament House in Canberra on March 20, 2024.
David Gray | Episode | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets followed Wall Street's gains on Monday after a softer-than-expected US jobs report fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon start cutting interest rates.
Investors, meanwhile, awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision on Tuesday and April Chinese trade data on Thursday.
ING said in a note last week that the RBA meeting was “worth keeping a close eye on”, adding that recent inflation data from Australia showed price growth was starting to accelerate.
However, the analysts said inflation data in Australia was better than they expected, and the country's economy had slowed more compared to the US, while the labor market softened significantly. As such, they predict no change in the RBA rate of 4.35%.
S&P Global-compiled purchasing managers' indices for Hong Kong will be released on Monday, while services PMI figures for mainland China and India will be released.
The markets in Japan and South Korea are closed for a holiday.
Australia S&P/ASX200 rose 0.46% in early trading, on track for a third straight day of gains.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 18,529, indicating a weaker open compared to the HSI's close of 18,475.92.
On Friday, US stocks rose sharply after a softer than expected April jobs report.
Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed that 175,000 jobs were added in April, fewer than the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, up from 3.8% the previous month. Wage figures were also less than expected, an encouraging sign for inflation.
The S&P500 rose 1.26% for its best day since February, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.99%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18%.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
