Nikkei leads Asia higher into event-packed week

 A man passes by an electronic screen displaying Japan’s Nikkei share average as it scaled an all-time closing high in Tokyo, Japan Feb 26, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File photo

SYDNEY  — Asian share markets firmed on Monday as the Nikkei reached another new high and investors braced for a week packed with central bank events and major data that will refine market wagers for when interest rates will start falling.

All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he testifies before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday, though analysts assume he will stay in wait-and-see mode on policy given recent upside surprises on inflation.

The February payrolls report on Friday could also shift the calculus with forecasts favoring a still-solid rise of 200,000 after January’s barnstorming 353,000 jump.

READ: Asian stocks firm before US inflation test; yen gains

The European Central Bank meets Thursday and is considered certain to keep rates at 4 percent, but also lower its outlook for inflation in a nod to eventual cuts.

“The focus will be on the changes to the macro projections and on the tone, which we expect to be dovish but cautious – in a risk-management posture that should point to June for the first move lower in rates,” wrote analysts at NatWest Markets in a note.

“100 basis points still seems the right amount of cuts for this year,” they added. “While the ECB is not pressed to act with urgency and may prefer to start with a 25bp clip, instead of our central scenario of a first 50bp cut in June.”

The Bank of Canada is likewise expected to stay on hold this week, with a first cut seen in June or later.

Other events of note include President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, the Super Tuesday U.S. primaries and China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting which might flag new stimulus measures.

Nikkei heads north

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2 percent, after snapping a five-week winning streak with a slight drop last week.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.8 percent to break 40,000 for the first time, having risen for five weeks straight.

READ: Nikkei hits record high on Wall Street bounce

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were trading near flat, having made record closing highs on Friday on upbeat earnings and enthusiasm for all things AI.

BofA analyst Savita Subramanian now sees the S&P 500 pushing on to 5,400, thanks to solid earnings, though there is a risk of a correction given how far the market has come.

“The era of lower quality growth where cheap capital and globalization contributed to margins is over,” says Subramanian. “Now it’s time for sustainable efficiency and productivity gains supported by automation and AI.”

In currency markets, the dollar had been weighed by some soft U.S. economic data, while the Japanese yen firmed ahead of Tokyo consumer price data on Tuesday that is expected to show inflation sprang higher in February.

The dollar stood at 150.08 yen, having peaked at 150.85 last week, while the euro steadied at $1.0842 after bouncing from a low of $1.0796 last week.

The U.S. data surprise had helped gold to a two-month top and the metal was last trading steady at $2,083 an ounce.

Oil prices were little changed as OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Sunday to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter.

Brent rose 2 cents to $83.57 a barrel, while U.S. crude edged down 5 cents to $79.92 per barrel.