Japan’s Nikkei 225 slips, Chinese economic data ahead

SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks fell on Monday morning as investors await the release of Chinese economic data for July.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.37% at the start of the session while the Topix index lost 1.1%.

Japan’s GDP grew 0.3% in the second quarter from the previous three months, when it contracted 0.9%, according to official preliminary estimates released on Monday. Printing data from April to June beat market expectations for an increase of 0.2%, according to Reuters.

Australian stocks also fell, with the S & P / ASX 200 falling 0.15%.

The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan has traded above the flat line.

South Korean markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday.

Investors will likely focus on releasing a lot of Chinese economic data at 10 a.m. HK / SIN on Monday. This includes the impression of China’s industrial production and retail sales for July.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.54 after falling recently from the 93 level.

The Japanese yen was trading at 109.55 per dollar, after strengthening late last week above 110 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7366, above levels below $ 0.735 seen last week.

Oil prices fell on the morning of trading hours in Asia, as international benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.61% to $ 70.16 a barrel. US crude futures fell 0.66% to $ 67.99 per barrel.