By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asia's stock markets dipped on Monday and a deepening dispute between China and Japan hit shares in Tokyo, while investors looked ahead to a week of catch-up data and corporate earnings.
Nvidia results after market on Wednesday may matter more for investors, since headline data due on Thursday for the U.S. labour market from September will be a little dated.
S&P 500 futures ticked 0.4% higher through the Asia session and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7%. European and FTSE futures fell about 0.1%.
Expectations for a U.S. interest rate cut in December have fallen to less than 50% following policymakers sounding hesitant. That has started to put pressure on stocks, especially in the frothy and rates-sensitive technology sector.
CHINA-JAPAN TENSION
In Asia trade, Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.2% with tourism and retail stocks down heavily after China cautioned citizens against visiting Japan.
Shares in department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi, Muji parent Ryohin Keikaku and cosmetics maker Shiseido notched declines of around 10%.
In Australia, a 0.6% fall for BHP after Britain's high court found it liable for a dam collapse in Brazil held the bourse flat. Hong Kong and China indexes each fell by about 1%.
Data showed Japan's economy contracted for the first time in six quarters due to a hit from U.S. tariffs, however it was a Nikkei report on a $110 billion stimulus spending plan that weighed on bonds and sent 20-year yields to a 26-year high of 2.75%.[JP/]
Some analysts see risk to the yen, too, if faith in fiscal discipline is shaken, much as it was in Britain last week when stocks, bonds and sterling tumbled on reports Finance Minister Rachel Reeves was backing away from tax hikes. [GB/]
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday held at 4.163% in Asia.
Wall Street indexes had on Friday recovered from a steep selloff on Friday to notch a mixed close, with a small drop for the S&P 500 and modest gain for the Nasdaq.
JOBS, NVIDIA
The headline U.S. data release this week will be Thursday's delayed September jobs report.
The figures may be too stale to be of much use, since private surveys have already flagged a labour market slowdown.
"If all it does is confirm that, it's not going to change the tune of the more hawkish Fed officials. They are more worried about inflation upside risks, so CPI data for them will be critical," said ANZ's head of research in Asia, Khoon Goh.
On Friday, rate cut expectations cooled when Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan cast doubt on the need to cut next month.
Home Depot, Target, Walmart and Nvidia report earnings in the U.S. this week and all eyes are on the chipmaker, where the market's response is shaping as a test of the sparkling rally.
Nvidia shares have soared about 1,000% since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. This includes a year-to-date gain of more than 40% that made Nvidia the first company to surpass $5 trillion in market value last month.
In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar was up slightly, holding the euro just below $1.16 and creeping higher on other majors.
Gold nursed Friday loss at $4,060 an ounce. Brent crude futures slipped 1% to $63.78 as loading resumed at a Russian hub hit previously by a Ukranian attack.[O/R]
Bitcoin, which has lately behaved as a barometer of the mood on technology stocks, was nursing its largest weekly fall since March, having lost more than 10% last week. It traded at $95,000.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed and Christopher Cushing)
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