By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged higher on Monday as a holiday in Japan removed one source of recent volatility, and investors hunkered down for major U.S. and Chinese economic data for an update on global growth prospects.
Key for the Federal Reserve will be U.S. consumer prices on Wednesday where economists look for rises of 0.2% in both the headline and core, with the annual core slowing a tick to 3.2%.
"That would likely bolster the Fed's confidence that disinflation is ongoing, allowing for a rate cut in September, but a core run-rate still above target should also speak against a larger 50bp cut or an intra-meeting cut," said analysts at Barclays (LON:BARC) in a note.
"Moreover, we expect a robust 0.8% m/m increase in headline retail sales, pointing to continued resilience in the engine of the economy, the consumer, on the back of solid income and wealth fundamentals."
As well as July retail sales, there is data on industrial output and housing starts, along with several surveys on regional manufacturing and consumer sentiment.
The futures market currently implies a 49% chance of the Fed cutting by 50 basis points in September, though that is down from 100% a week ago when Japanese equities went into free fall.
Nikkei futures traded at 35,535 compared with a cash close of 35,025, though they are not quite back at where they were before last week's plunge.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.6%, led by a 1.6% bounce in Taiwan. Chinese blue chips firmed 0.1%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.5% and FTSE futures 0.4%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were a fraction firmer in thin trading. So far, around 91% of the S&P 500 have reported earnings and 78% of those have beaten the Street.
Results from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) this week will offer a snapshot on how U.S. consumers are holding up.
China issues figures on retail sales and industrial production on Thursday, which are expected to show the economy continuing to underperform, underlining the need for more stimulus.
In currency markets, the dollar edged up 0.2% to 146.92 yen, and away from last week's deep low of 141.68, while the euro was steady at $1.0915.
BofA FX strategist Shusuke Yamada thinks the rush to unwind yen carry trades - borrowing at low rates to buy higher yielding assets - has mostly run its course with speculative yen short positions having fallen by 60%.
"Longer-term, structural outflows from corporate foreign direct investment and retail ownership of international equities should drive yen weakness," he adds, and sees the dollar at 155.00 yen by year-end.
Data from the IMM exchange showed net short positions in dollar/yen were down at 11,354 compared with 184,000 in early July.
In commodity markets, gold held at $2,424 an ounce, after dipping slightly last week. [GOL/]
Oil prices inched up, having bounced 3.5% last week as fears of a widening Middle East conflict threatened supplies. [O/R]
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke on Sunday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and told him Iran's military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack on Israel.
The Pentagon also made the rare decision to publicly report that Austin had ordered the deployment of a nuclear-powered guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
Brent gained 20 cents to $79.86 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 34 cents to $77.18 per barrel.