Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed Monday as volatility continues to reign in Japan. Barring a reversal, Asian stocks could be headed for the fifth consecutive losing day.
In Asian trading Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 3.11% after minutes from the Bank of Japan’s April meeting indicated some members of the central bank opposed the goal of 2% inflation within two years.
The BoJ minutes show members are concerned about the rise in bond yields caused by the central bank’s ultra-loose monetary stimulus efforts. Former economists Takahide Kiuchi and Takehiro Sato were among the members that expressed concern that targeting 2% inflation within two years was too much of a burden for an economy wracked by deflation dating back to at least the late 1990s.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.07% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.11% after the National Bureau of Statistics said profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 11.4% through the first four months of this year.
Last Thursday, China’s HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of the country's industrial activity, fell to a seven-month low of 49.6 in May from a final reading of 50.4 in April.
S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.70% Barclays advised shorting the Aussie against the Canadian and New Zealand dollars. Data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show that short bets on the Aussie jumped to 32,409 contracts on May 21, up from 13,450 contracts a week earlier.
New Zealand’s NZSE 50 slid 1.12%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.36% after the Bank of Korea said consumer confidence there jumped to 104 to 102 last month. Analysts expected a reading of 103.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.11%. S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.07%, but markets in the U.S. and U.K. are closed Monday for public holidays.