In the broader market, traders also continued to reel from the effects of a blowout U.S. jobs report, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting this week.
The rate cut rally which drove world shares higher last week quickly ground to a halt and left Asian stocks struggling on Monday, though trading was thinned with holidays in Australia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
While it’s almost a given that Fed policymakers will dial back on their projections for three rate cuts this year when they announce their rate decision on Wednesday, the question is by how much.
Futures point to about 36 basis points worth of easing priced in for this year, and chances for a pre-election rate cut remains a coin toss.
The Fed aside, the Bank of Japan also meets this week, and expectations are for the central bank to announce a tapering of its massive bond purchases.
That could offer some reprieve for the yen, which was still struggling to strengthen past the 157 per dollar level against a resurgent greenback on Monday.
