Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region echoed losses on Wall Street as stocks took a slight pause after posting record weekly gains this year ahead of key earnings. The yield on the US Treasury rose by 11 basis points to 4.19%.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 was 95 points, or 1.13%, lower at 8,250, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 was up 40 points, or 0.10% at 38,989 as of 5:40 a.m.
Stocks in China closed positive on Monday after banks in China slashed key policy rates to revive the economy. The one-year loan prime rate was lowered to 3.10% from 3.35%, while the five-year LPR was reduced to 3.60% from 3.85%.
Japanese stocks will see heightened volatility going into the week, with the general election scheduled for this weekend. Bloomberg News, quoting two polls, said support for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is continuing to soften.
Elsewhere, Wall Street took a breather after recording its best rally last week. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.18% and 0.80%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.27%.
Tesla Inc. and Boeing Co.'s earnings will be closely watched this week as investors look for guidance after recent challenges in launches and production delays, respectively. Nearly 20% of the S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report their earnings this week.
Treasury yields spiked on Monday. This comes amid comments about a slower pace of interest-rate reductions by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid. Bloomberg News reported that he favors slower rate cuts given uncertainty about how low the US Fed should ultimately cut rates.
On the commodity front, crude oil prices dipped after rising over 2% on Monday as tensions in West Asia lingered on. Israel vowed retaliation against Iran after it targeted the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via a drone attack.
Brent crude was trading 0.23% lower at $74.12 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.03% at $70.54.
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