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Asian stocks off to a slow start, eyeing China stimulus, Powell testimonies
Asian shares opened carefully on Monday after their best week in five months. Investors are awaiting China's decision on its rate, PBOC cuts and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's statement for rate clues. Nikkei fell 0.5%, after clinching a fresh three-decade high last week, buoyed by the Bank of Japan's decision to leave its setting unchanged. Morgan Stanley's Robin Xing expects an imminent stimulus given second-quarter GDP growth is tracking at 0%. Investors are looking for a number of Fed speakers this week, and markets are pricing in a 70% probability of Fed hiking by a quarter point in July.