Central banks; U.S., China inflation data

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed ahead of central bank decisions this week, with investors also awaiting inflation numbers from the U.S. and China.

The Bank of Korea, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of Thailand and the central bank of the Philippines have their monetary policy meetings scheduled this week.

S&P Global expects all four banks to hold their rates steady, but also added in its note that “the Bank of Korea may be amongst [banks] which [are] close to lowering rates and the rhetoric will be in focus.” The BOK was among one of the earliest Asian banks to halt its rate tightening cycle in 2023.

Later in the week, U.S. and China inflation numbers will be in focus, with China also releasing trade data for March on Friday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded to cross the 39,000 mark, gaining 1.01% in early trade, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.77%.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.17%, while the small-cap Kosdaq saw a larger loss of 0.76%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 0.15%.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,779, pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI’s last close of 16,723.92.

On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes regained ground after a stronger than expected jobs report, with the Labor Department’s report showing that job growth totaled 303,000 in March.

Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 200,000, according to Dow Jones estimates. Wages rose 0.3% for the month and 4.1% from a year earlier, both in line with estimates.

The 30-stock Dow climbed 0.8%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.11%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.24%.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.