• Shares in Asia fell Monday as investors look ahead to US inflation data due Tuesday that is expected to show a further slowing in core prices.
• Equities in Australia, South Korea and Japan all declined. The Topix index of Japanese equities faced its biggest one-day drop since October, weighed down by the tech sector which lost almost 3%. The tech-heavy Nikkei 225 index also fell with other Asian chip and AI-related stocks after Nvidia Corp. slipped 5.6% Friday.
• Hong Kong equity futures went against the broader trend to trade higher, helped along by the first rise in consumer prices since August. The 0.7% increase in February CPI exceeded consensus estimates and is welcome news for investors worried about deflation in the world’s second largest economy.