Japan’s Nikkei slipped while Hong Kong and China scraped together some gains but there was an air of ‘wait-and-see’ ahead of the US Fed chief’s speech

Hopes of a slowdown in central bank tightening were dashed by Friday’s upbeat US payroll numbers, weighing on Asian investor sentiment on Monday

Doubts over China’s recovery swayed investor sentiment while the looming release of US payroll data weighed too

News that US Fed chair Jerome Powell sees inflation easing off buoyed the region’s markets though China recovery doubts weighed in Hong Kong

Investors were lifted by positive factory data out of China but remained distracted by worries over which way the US Fed will jump next in its fight with inflation

Investors cashed in on Tuesday after a recent rally as markets readied for more interest rate rises in the US

Investors were restrained on Monday with all eyes on this week’s US Federal Reserve meeting and earning announcements from several tech giants

Investor mood was boosted by consumer spending data from the United States and bets the Fed will slow down its rate hike programme

Hong Kong was playing catch-up after a three-day Lunar New Year break while Tokyo was edgy ahead of the latest GDP figures out of the States

Tokyo’s benchmark index hit a one-month high with investors in positive mood ahead of a big earnings week in the US

Japan’s indexes followed in the slipstream of US markets which were buoyed by Fed chiefs signalling that inflation was cooling

Investor mood was boosted by Beijing’s claims it was winning its war with Covid but fears of a global slowdown continue to cast a shadow