Asia Shares Slip As Inflation, Politics Call For Caution

Asia shares slipped on Monday as investors awaited US price data expected to show a renewed moderation in inflation, while markets remained alert for possible Japanese intervention as the dollar tested the 160-yen barrier, Wayne Cole reported for Reuters from Sydney.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both down around 0.1%. I Photo: New York Stock Exchange Facebook

Geopolitics also loomed large, with the first U.S. presidential debate on Thursday and the first round of voting in the French election at the weekend. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9%, after touching a two-year top last week.

South Korean stocks fell 0.8%. Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.2%, with the continued decline in the yen putting pressure on the Bank of Japan to tighten policy despite patchy domestic data.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both down around 0.1%.

Shares in Boeing could face pressure after Reuters reported US prosecutors are recommending criminal charges be brought against the aircraft maker. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.2%, while FTSE futures lost 0.3%.