Asia markets live: BOJ decision, China LPR

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly down on Monday, reversing earlier gains with investors looking to several major central bank decisions due this week including the Bank of Japan and the People’s Bank of China.

The Federal Reserve’s decision on Dec. 18 stateside will also be top of mind for investors, with the CME Fedwatch tool forecasting a 96% chance of a 25-basis-points cut.

The BOJ is likely to hold rates when it releases its decision on Thursday, while the PBOC will announce its loan prime rates on Friday. The one-year LPR influences corporate loans and most household loans in China, while the five-year LPR serves as a benchmark for mortgage rates.

On Monday, traders are assessing an economic data dump out from China, including November numbers for industrial production, retail sales and home prices in the country.

In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1%, leading losses in Asia in its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.54% and closed at 3,911.84.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.22% after early gains, closing at 2,488.97. However, the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.67% higher, marking a fifth straight day of gains and ending at 698.53.

This comes after the country’s parliament impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday. On Monday, the country’s finance ministry reportedly said it will continue monitoring financial and foreign exchange markets in the wake of the impeachment.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was marginally down at 39.457.49, but the broad-based Topix saw a larger loss of 0.3% and fell to 2,738.33.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.56%, finishing at 8,249.5 and marking a five-day losing streak.

On Friday in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a seventh session on Friday, losing 0.2% and posting its longest run of losses since 2020.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.12% and the broad-based S&P 500 ended the session little changed, closing at 6,051.09.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.