Stocks in Asia were little changed in Monday morning trade as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy stateside may need a coronavirus vaccine to fully recover.
Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.13% in early trade while the Topix index gained 0.18%. South Korea's Kospi, on the other hand, dipped fractionally.
Meanwhile in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.08% higher.
Investors watched for reaction to Powell's recent comments to CBS' "60 Minutes."
"Assuming there's not a second wave of the coronavirus, I think you'll see the economy recover steadily through the second half of the year," the central bank chief said. However, he added that "for the economy to fully recover ... that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine."
On the economic data front, Japan's economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.4% in January-March, Reuters reported Monday citing government data. That marked the country's second straight quarter of contraction, meeting the technical definition of a recession, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, China's housing price data for April is also set to be out at about 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Oil prices jumped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.77% to $33.40 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also added 3.3% to $30.40 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.378 after seeing highs around 100.5 last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.22 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 107.6 seen early last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6426 following a decline from levels above $0.65 in the previous week.
What's on tap for Monday:
- China: House prices for April at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
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May 18, 2020 at 07:18AM
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Asia stocks little changed; Fed Chair Powell assesses prospects of U.S. economic recovery - CNBC
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