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Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

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Wall St futures flat, Nikkei closed for holiday

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Euro shows little reaction to Fitch downgrade of France

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Rate cuts seen from Fed, BoC; steady for BoE, BOJ

(Updates with Chinese activity data, movements in Chinese

stocks; Updates oil prices)

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Stocks got off to a

cautious start in Asia on Monday ahead of an action-packed week

that is seemingly certain to see the U.S. Federal Reserve resume

its easing cycle, and perhaps leave the door wide open to a

series of cuts.

The Bank of Canada is also expected to cut rates by a

quarter point this week, while the Bank of Japan and the Bank of

England also meet and are both expected to hold rates steady.

Traders are less certain about Norway's Norges Bank, with a cut

this week priced at a little more than a coin toss.

Markets are 100% priced for an easing of 25 basis points

from the Fed, taking its funds rate to 4.0-4.25%, with futures

implying just a 4% chance of 50 basis points.

Just as important will be Fed members' "dot plot"

projections for rates and guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell

on the extent and pace of any further easing.

Futures already have 125 basis points of cuts priced in, so

anything less than dovish will disappoint investors.

"After cutting policy rates 25bp, Chair Powell is likely to

guide toward a series of further rate cuts, noting that downside

risk to employment has increased further following recent softer

jobs data," said Andrew Hollenhorst, chief U.S. economist at

Citi, who sees reductions at each of the next five meetings.

"We expect median "dots" to signal 75bp of rate cuts this

year and for Chair Powell to indicate that rate cuts at upcoming

meetings are likely given the shifting balance of risks."

President Donald Trump continued his attacks on the central

bank on Sunday, saying Powell was incompetent and hurting the

housing market.

A holiday in Japan made for a slow start, with the euro

showing scant reaction to Fitch's downgrade of France.

The single currency was holding steady at $1.1728,

a short way from its recent top of $1.1780. The dollar was flat

on the yen at 147.58, but well within the 146.22 to

149.13 range of the past month or so.

The euro has been underpinned by a steady outlook for EU

rates with the European Central Bank signalling it was in a

"good place" on policy. A host of ECB officials are due to speak

this week, including President Christine Lagarde.

CHINA DATA

EUROSTOXX 50 futures inched up 0.1%, while FTSE

futures fell 0.1% and DAX futures were flat. S&P

500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both little

changed.

While the Nikkei was shut for the holiday, futures

stood at 44,590, just below the cash close of 44,768,

having climbed more than 4% last week. South Korea's market

hit another record after the government scrapped a plan

to raise taxes on stock investment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was flat.

Chinese blue chips rose 0.5%, while Hong Kong's

Hang Seng index edged up 0.2%.

Data on Monday showed the Chinese economy lost some momentum

in August, with a slew of activity indicators coming below

forecasts. Its industrial output expanded at 5.2%, slowing from

the 5.7% pace of the previous month, while retail sales rose

only 3.4% from a year ago.

Falls in property investment deepened while home prices fell

another 0.3% in August, extending a downward trend that has

persisted since early 2023.

U.S. and Chinese officials concluded a first day of talks in

Madrid on Sunday on their strained trade ties, and will resume

them later on Monday.

Trump said he was still negotiating on the divestiture

deadline for Chinese short-video app TikTok, while pressuring

Washington's allies to place tariffs on imports from China over

its purchases of Russian oil.

The threat of further sanctions on Russia offered some

support to oil prices, though concerns about slowing U.S. demand

and increased production from OPEC+, the Organization of the

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia,

were dominating for the moment.

Brent rose 0.4% to $67.27 a barrel, while U.S. crude

firmed 0.5% to $63 per barrel.

Gold was down 0.1% at $3,639 an ounce, not far from

last week's all-time high of $3,673.95.

The cash Treasuries market was closed due to the holiday in

Japan. Yields on 10-year Treasuries last stood at

4.07%, having hit a five-month low of 3.994% last week as a run

of soft labour data added to the case for aggressive Fed easing.

The three-month average of nonfarm payrolls has slowed to

29,000, well below the 10-year trend of 145,000 and too low to

stop the unemployment rate from rising over time.