By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Monday morning over on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s dovish speech to withdraw stimulus measures cautiously and gradually.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.27% by 10:15 PM ET (2:15 AM GMT) while South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.22%.
In Australia, the ASX 200 edged up 0.11% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched down 0.09%.
China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.35% while the Shenzhen Component inched up 0.08%.
Powell said at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole policy forum on Friday that the central bank may start scaling back bond purchases in 2021 without giving a specific timeline.
He added the Fed was in no hurry to raise interest rates and will keep an eye on COVID-19 data.
“There is little doubt Powell was dovish, relative to market pricing and positioning,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Financial Pty, wrote in a note. Weston remains “positive on risk for now” but added a slowing global economy and Fed policy normalization remain threats to the outlook.
On the data front, investors are now awaiting for the U.S. nonfarm payrolls for August due on Friday, as Powell said the Fed will also keep an eye on the improvement in the labor market.
“A strong payrolls print could instigate a debate for a September tapering start," Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB, said in a note.
In Asia, the Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for August will be released on Wednesday.
"We expect both the manufacturing and services PMIs to moderate in August, given the widespread Delta variant and strict lockdown," said Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts in a note.
"With slowing growth momentum and dovish signals from the (People's Bank of China) meeting this week, we expect more easing, but still at a measured pace."