Anika Begay
A loan shark counts Indian rupee notes in his shop in Ahmedabad, India.
Amit Dave | Reuters
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Monday, following a mixed week of heavy selling followed by a sharp recovery, especially in Japanese stocks.
Futures for U.S. benchmark indices fell as investors awaited key inflation data due later this week. Wall Street’s major averages rose on Friday, with indices posting a sharp recovery from last week’s market plunge.
The Dow Jones closed down 0.6% on Friday, while the S&P 500 fell a slim 0.04% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.18%.
In Asia, traders will weigh inflation and industrial production data from India on Monday.
Economists polled by Reuters expect India’s annual CPI inflation to fall sharply to 3.65% in July, from 5.08% the previous month.
Meanwhile, India’s industrial production in June is forecast to come in at 5.5%, down slightly from 5.9% in May.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.45%. Australian consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi rose more than 8% after reporting its annual results.
Despite a decline in net profit after tax, the company announced a special dividend of 80 Australian cents a share (53 US cents a share), made possible by “a strong net cash position and a significant franking credit balance”.
South Korean stock Kospi rose 0.9%, while small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.8%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 remained unchanged, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 0.1%.
Japanese markets were closed for the holiday.
—Vscek’s Tanaya Macheel contributed to this article.
