by Amala Balakrishner
NBC, Los Angeles
Asia-Pacific markets opened lower after Wall Street logged its worst session of the year last Friday on lackluster U.S. economic data that pointed to a slowing economy and sticky inflation.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 extended losses to a sixth straight session, opening 0.81% lower.
In South Korea, the Kospi started the day 0.71% lower, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.1.21%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 23,397, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s Friday close of 23,477.92 — it’s highest since February 2022.
Japanese markets are closed for a public holiday.
Singapore is slated to release its inflation numbers for January later in the day. A Reuters’ poll forecasts the city-state’s consumer price index reading at 2.15% year on year, higher than December’s 1.60%.