The Asian stock markets are expected to move modestly lower at the opening of trade on Monday, following uninspired gross domestic product figures from the United States. Traders may also lock in gains after most of the regional bourses moved higher on Friday.
In the U.S., the Commerce Department said that GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 1.8 percent growth seen in the third quarter. Although GDP growth showed a notable acceleration compared to the previous quarter, economists had been expecting an increase of about 3.1 percent.
The major U.S. markets finished mixed on Friday, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ closing adding 11.27 points or 0.4 percent to end at 2,816.55. The Dow fell 74.17 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 12,660.46 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.11 points or 0.2 percent to end at 1,316.32.
The major European markets all moved to the downside on Friday. While the German DAX Index slipped 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
The Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday, led by a 0.75 percent jump from Singapore's Straits Times Index. Australia added 0.45 percent and South Korea's KOSPI ticked higher by 0.39 percent, while Hong Kong's Han g Seng Index collected 0.31 percent and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite gained 0.07 percent. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.09 percent and Malaysia fell 0.2 percent, while China and Taiwan remained closed for the Lunar New Year.
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