SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian share markets slid on Monday after worries about a possible U.S. economic downturn slugged Wall Street, though U.S. stock futures did rally from an early dip and bond yields came off their lows.
Data on consumer prices (CPI) from China showed the Asian giant remained a driver of global disinflation, with producer prices falling an annual 1.8% in August when analysts had looked for a drop of 1.4%.
The CPI also missed forecasts at 0.6% for the year, with almost all the rise in food prices and goods prices up just 0.2%, pointing to subdued domestic demand.
Japan’s Nikkei bore the brunt of the selling as tech stocks declined, losing another 2.4% on top of a near 6% slide last week. (T)
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1.2%, after shedding 2.25% last week, while South Korea’s market fell 1.3%.
On a brighter note, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both edged up 0.2% following Friday’s slide. EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.3% and FTSE futures firmed 0.5%.
Fed fund futures dipped as investors wondered whether the mixed U.S. August payrolls report would be enough to tip the Federal Reserve into cutting rates by an outsized 50 basis points when it meets next week.
So far, markets imply a 33% chance of a large cut, in part due to comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams on Friday, though Waller did leave open the option of aggressive easing.
