HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- Asian stocks outside of Japan declined Monday, as investors digested expectations of a smaller rate cut in the U.S.
The Nikkei Asia300 Index fell 0.5% to 1,322.64. U.S. equities had pulled back on Friday amid uncertainty over the quantum of the Federal Reserve's widely expected rate cut. Expectations for a 50- basis-point cut had risen after New York Fed President John Williams during a speech on Thursday stressed the importance of acting "quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress." Later, a New York Fed representative said the speech was academic in nature and "not about potential policy actions," according to Reuters.
