SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday ahead of economic data due from China including fourth-quarter GDP figures.

The Nikkei 225Japan saw an increase of 0.79% during early trade, and the Topix index gained 0.57%.

Australian shares made gains during the ASX 200It was up by 0.11%. The subindex that is heavily weighted in financials saw a gain of 0.33% while the sector for energy was up by 1.15%.

South Korean shares however fell during the KospiThe Kosdaq dropped 0.5% while it was down 0.4%.

This session takes place in Asia following a mixed U.S. finish last Friday. Wall Street had a second consecutive week of negative numbers to begin the year.

Markets reacted defensively after disappointing US economic data in December. Retail sales dropped sharply, and manufacturing production fell, hitting by a triple whammy: high inflation, continuing supply shortages, and Omicron,” ANZ Research analyst wrote Monday morning.

The Fed “will have to revise its inflation forecasts, and guidance regarding interest rates in the next few months,” they said.

U.S. Markets are Closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Economists believe data will be out Monday from Beijing to highlight slowdown at the second-largest country. It is due in part to China’s tight measures to control the omicron Covid variant and its problems in the property sector. sluggish consumption.

A Reuters poll showed that gross domestic product likely grew 3.6% in the October-December quarter from a year ago — the weakest pace since the second quarter of 2020 and slowing from 4.9% in the July-September quarter.

Last week, U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs slashed its 2022 forecast for China economic growth from 4.8% to 4.3%.

The currency market is dominated by the U.S. dollarAfter last week’s climb from levels close to 94.87, 95.243 traded 0.8% higher against its peers.

Analysts from Commonwealth Bank of Australia said Monday that the dollar might “remain heavily this week, and head down toward 94.11,” in a note.

The Fed has not scheduled any speeches or data-related economic releases for this week that would influence market prices and the timing of rate increases by the U.S. central banks.

“We expect interest rate markets to continue to favour a March lift‑off to the Funds rate,” the CBA analysts said, adding, “At the same time, the view that omicron is unlikely to derail the global economic recovery is a weight on the counter‑cyclical USD.”

The Other Places Japanese yenThe price of the currency changed at 114.38 after it was near 115.5 last week. The Australian dollarIncreased 0.04% to $0.7209.

Oil prices rose during Asian trading hours on Monday U.S. crudeThe price of a barrel increased by 0.69% to $84.4