Asian share markets were mostly lower in early Monday trading as investors prepared for major corporate earnings and central-bank decisions, while crude prices eased.
Japan and South Korea’s main stock indexes declined, and U.S. equity futures edged higher. These were intraday readings, rather than final closing results.
The coming earnings calendar includes Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, giving investors fresh information on whether substantial artificial-intelligence spending is translating into business returns.
The Federal Reserve also meets this week. Market expectations for a decision are separate from an announced policy change; the meeting had not yet taken place.
Oil’s early retreat followed a strong rise the previous week. Prices and stock-index levels remained subject to change as trading continued.