SYDNEY : Asian share markets edged cautiously higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to a key reading on U.S. inflation and the start of another corporate earnings season.
The cross currents made for an uncertain background and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.1 per cent in early trade.S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both little changed, having retreated modestly last week. "We expect companies will be able to meet the low bar set by consensus," they added."Negative EPS revisions for 2023 and 2024 appear to have bottomed and revision sentiment has improved."
Currently futures imply around a 90 per cent probability of a rise to 5.25-5.5 per cent this month, and a 24 per cent chance of a move in September. Early Monday, U.S. two-year yields stood at 4.946 per cent, having hit a 16-year high of 5.12 per cent last week.