SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan were poised for a lower start on Monday, with China set to announce its latest benchmark lending rate later in the day.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,365 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,450. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 28,545.68.
Australian stocks declined in morning trade, with the S&P/ASX 200 down about 0.3%.
Looking ahead, China is set to announce its latest one-year loan prime rate at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday. Majority of traders and economists in a Reuters poll expect cuts to the loan prime rate.
Investors will also continue to track the spread of the omicron Covid variant, with the World Health Organization recently warning that the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community spread.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.649 after recently climbing from below 96.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.61 per dollar, stronger than levels above 114 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7112, off levels above $0.72 seen last week.
