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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

By Wayne Cole

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

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 China's central bank might trim

one of its market rates amid a sluggish economy. The Bank of

Japan and Bank of England also meet and are both seen on hold.

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 cut 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 recently

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 some of the

major currencies not trading at all and the euro showing scant

reaction to Fitch's downgrade of France.

The single currency was holding steady at $1.1727,

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

fraction firmer on the yen at 147.77, 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 DUMP

EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged up 0.2%, while FTSE

futures fell 0.2% and DAX futures were flat. S&P

500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both little

changed.

While the Nikkei was shut, futures stood at

44,570 just below the cash close of 44,768, having climbed more

than 4% last week. South Korea's market rose 0.4% to

another record top after surging almost 6% last week on investor

optimism over AI technologies and domestic market reforms.

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

dipped 0.1%.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries 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.

Data due this week includes retail sales, industrial output,

housing starts and weekly jobless claims.

China reports retail sales and industrial production later

on Monday and forecasts are for little improvement in either.

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

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

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 were dominating for the

moment.

Brent was little changed at $67.01 a barrel, while

U.S. crude firmed a fraction to $62.77 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.