SYDNEY- Asian shares got off to a cautious start on Monday as investors awaited key US inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy, while Bitcoin tried to steady after being hammered on news of China’s crackdown on mining and trading of the cryptocurrency.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.4 percent in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2 percent and Chinese blue chips lost 0.5 percent.
Nasdaq futures were flat and S&P 500 futures firmed 0.2 percent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures added 0.1 percent.
After surveys of the global service sectors out on Friday showed spectacular growth, all eyes will be on US personal consumption and inflation figures this week.
A high reading for the core inflation figures would ring alarms and could revive talk of an early tapering by the US Federal Reserve.
The diary has a crowd of Fed speakers this week, including the influential Fed Board Governor Lael Brainard, and markets will be keen to hear if they stick to the script on being patient with policy.
BofA’s monthly Fund Manager survey found a record high 69 percent of respondents expected above trend economic growth and inflation globally.
As a result, managers had pushed into commodities and late-cyclicals, where overweight positions were close to 15-year highs, while the single most crowded trade was Bitcoin.
