Asia shares extend gains; wary eye on Japan yields
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) — Asian shares looked to end the month on a firm note on Monday in a week littered with major economic releases, central bank meetings and earnings updates from mega caps Amazon and Apple, though rising Japanese bond yields were a risk.
The early impetus for shares was positive following Friday's U.S. data showing an easing in wage costs and core inflation, which fuelled hopes the Federal Reserve was done tightening.
«The data surprises bolster confidence that global core inflation — ex. China — will fall sharply and set the stage for a developed market central bank policy pause and emerging market easing even if growth remains firm,» said Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM).
Figures due this week include the U.S. ISM surveys on manufacturing and services, the July payrolls report and European inflation. China factory surveys are due later on Monday.
The Bank of England is widely expected to raise rates by at least a quarter point, but markets are more divided on whether the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike or stay on hold.
Almost 30% of the S&P 500 report results this week and, so far, earnings have been good enough to see the index extend its rally to 10% since the start of June.
S&P 500 futures added another 0.1% on Monday, bringing its gains for July to almost 3%, with Nasdaq futures up 0.2%.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) both report on Thursday, while other well-known names with results due include Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC), Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX), and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).
Asian markets have also been trending higher, with China's benchmark index enjoying a 4.5% jump last
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