Asian stocks stall as inflation data approaches

A U.S. market holiday meant that there were few trading clues on Tuesday, as investors avoided placing large bets ahead of a series of important inflation figures this week. The majority of Asian equities traded in a narrow range.

On Monday, there was some support in regional markets following China's announcement of further stimulus measures, this time targeted at the domestic semiconductor industry. On Tuesday, Chinese technology stocks continued to rise as expectations for further stimulus increased.

However, more general markets were mainly down, with little overnight cues due to the US Memorial Day holiday.

Asia's best performer was Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which increased following significant advances in the previous session. The Shanghai Composite and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 benchmark indexes in China, on the other hand, fluctuated between flat and low.

The announcement of a new $47 billion fund by the government to help the domestic chip sector lifted Chinese tech equities, particularly in light of the recent stringent U.S. sanctions and tariffs against the nation.

Investors seemed to be waiting to see how China would implement and finance its current round of stimulus measures, which looked to be dampening sentiment towards the country's larger markets.

Additionally, investors were on edge due to the expectation of important Chinese purchasing managers index data later this week.

Nikkei 225 index of Japan had a little decline. Later this week, Japan's capital is expected to release inflation statistics, which will probably affect the Bank of Japan's interest rate projections.

This week also brings important CPI data from the eurozone, in addition to Asia. The PCE price index data, which is the favoured inflation indicator of the US Federal Reserve, is the main focus of attention.

The figure is anticipated to have an impact on the prospects for rate reductions in the largest economy in the world and is due on Friday.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)