This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Monday after Wall Street logged its worst session of the year last Friday as U.S. economic data pointed to a slowing economy and sticky inflation.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index fell 0.22% to close at 3,969.72. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended the day 0.58% lower at 23,341.61, after notching a nearly three-year high in its previous session.
Indian stocks continued to be in negative territory, with the Nifty 50 down 1.08%, while the BSE Sensex index had lost 1.03% as of 1.30 p.m. local time.
South Korea’s Kospi ended the day 0.35% lower at 2,645.27, while the small-cap Kosdaq was closed down 0.17% at 773.33.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.14% higher at 8,308.20, breaking its five-session losing streak.
Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
Singapore’s core inflation, which strips out accommodation and private transport costs, edged up 0.8% year on year in January, government data showed. This is the lowest reading since June 2021 and is lower than the 1.5% forecast in a Reuters’ poll.
Meanwhile, headline inflation came in at 1.2% year in year, its lowest since February 2021. The reading was also lower than the 2.15% estimated by Reuters.
In U.S., the three major averages closed lower on Friday, as fresh data raised investors’ concerns on the economy. Losses also intensified amid fears of further policy moves by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already proposed a slew of tariffs and other changes within a month of taking office.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 748.63 points, or 1.69%, to close at 43,428.02. Friday’s decline, its worst this year, brought its two-day losses to roughly 1,200 points. The S&P 500 slid 1.71% to end at 6,013.13, marking a second negative session after the index closed at a record on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.2%, settling at 19,524.01.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
Singapore inflation climbs at its slowest rate since February 2021
Singapore’s inflation climbed by its lowest rate since February 2021, increasing 1.2% year on year in January, down from a revised 1.5% in December.
Core inflation in the country — which, strips out prices of private transport and accommodation — rose by 0.8% year on year, down from December’s 1.8% rise.
This is the first key piece of economic data since Singapore unveiled its 2025 budget on Feb. 18, which promised more support for households and businesses to combat cost of living pressures.
Read the full story here.
— Lim Hui Jie
Shares in Olam Group surge over 8% on sale of stake in Olam Agri to Saudi Agriculture & Livestock Investment
Shares in agri-business company Olam Group surged as much as 8.85% after it announced on Monday that it will sell its remaining 64.57% stake in Olam Agri to Saudi Agriculture & Livestock Investment (Salic).
The company will first sell its 44.58% stake (1.51 billion shares) to the state-owned Saudi investment firm for about $1.78 billion. Upon completion, Salic will have a controlling stake of 80.01% in Olam Agri, the company revealed in a regulatory filing.
Olam Group will have the option of selling its remaining 19.99% stake in Olam Agri to Salic at the end of three years.
— Amala Balakrishner
Perpetual shares fall as it ends talks with KKR on sale of wealth management arm, corporate trust units
Australia’s Perpetual saw its shares slide 3.62% Monday as it terminated talks with KKR on the sale of its wealth management arm and corporate trust units, according to a filing. The deal was reportedly worth 2.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion).
The asset management firm said it would pursue the sale of its wealth management business separately.
Perpetual’s deal with the U.S. private equity firm, which was initiated last May, fell through after an independent expert noted that it was “not in the best interests of shareholders.”
KKR has asserted that a “break fee is payable and has reserved its rights to seek further damages,” Perpetual’s filing flagged. However, the asset manager wrote that it “rejects KKR’s contentions.”
— Amala Balakrishner
Odds surge for 2 to 3 Fed rate cuts by December 2025
Trading in 30-day fed funds futures contracts Friday now suggests roughly 55% odds that the Federal Reserve will cut rates two to three times by the end of the year, to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% from 4.25% to 4.50% today.
The odds on Thursday stood at about 44.4%.
Even by the time of the Fed’s October policy meeting, market odds now stand at roughly 50-50 that the central bank will cut back on lending rates by one half to three quarters of a percentage point, whereas on Thursday, futures trading pointed to only about a 38% chance.
— Scott Schnipper
