Asia: Stocks mostly higher as investors await Yellen speech

Asia stocks were mostly higher on Monday as investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen at the central bank’s annual conference this week.

At the close the Nikkei 225 rose 0.32% to 16,598.19 points, the Hang Seng increased 0.26% to 22,997.91 points, while the Shanghai dropped 0.75% to 3,084.81 points.

Yellen is due to speak at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday with analysts looking for further clues on the timing of the next interest rate increase.

Several Fed policymakers last week hinted that a rate hike was possible this year as the US economy has strengthened and the labour market has improved. The latest remarks were from Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer on Sunday when his upbeat assessment of the US economy was seen to suggest Yellen might also sound a hawkish note at Friday’s conference.

“Many investors hope (Yellen’s) speech on Friday will provide more clarity on the Fed’s next move, however we don’t expect much on the timing,” said FXTM chief market strategist Hussein Sayed.

“She will likely focus on the bigger picture as the topic suggests ‘designing resilient monetary frameworks for the future’ which could be interpreted as a dovish message, and keep the greenback under some pressure.”

Meanwhile, traders are also looking ahead to comments from Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday. Analysts expect he will expand further on earlier remarks that the central bank has room to cut rates.

In an interview with the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, published Saturday, Kuroda said, "Based on our comprehensive assessment, there is a fair amount of possibility that we will conduct additional measures without hesitation, if necessary."

In China, the central bank set the yuan’s benchmark rate at 0.7% lower against the US dollar, marking the biggest depreciation move for the yuan since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June.

On the commodities front, oil prices slumped as the dollar strengthened and data from Baker Hughes showed the number of active oil rigs in the US rose by 10 last week, adding to worries ab out the supply glut. Hope for a deal on stabilising the market at next month’s unofficial OPEC meeting is also fading.

Brent crude fell 1.6% to $50.04 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.53% to $48.37 per barrel at 1020 BST.

Metal prices were also under pressure with gold, silver and copper down 0.62%, 1.85% and 1.08% respectively on the Comex.