Global equities paused their record-breaking rally in Asian trading as investors braced for a flurry of earnings from megacap technology companies and policy announcements from major central banks this week.
Asian shares fell 0.4% and futures pointed to a weaker open for Europe. Japanese shares extended their drop as the yen gained.
Contracts for the US dipped 0.1%, after the underlying indexes closed at a record as Chinese and US trade negotiators lined up an array of diplomatic wins for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to unveil at a summit this week.
“What we’re hoping is for some agreement with hard numbers,” Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
“We’re still going to be skeptical in effect that we do expect heightened risks from tariffs and geopolitics — there is no escape from that.
Easing trade tensions have helped fuel a stock rally, while US companies have so far emerged largely unscathed by tariffs, protecting margins through price increases and cost cuts.
That optimism faces a reality check this week as investors look to the Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the path of rate cuts, while major technology firms including Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. reveal whether the earnings momentum can be sustained.
In other corners of the market, the yen gained against the dollar, snapping a seven-session slide after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and newly appointed Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama discussed exchange rate volatility.
