Asian Stocks Mixed as US Data Eases Rate Fears

Asian stocks were mixed on Monday following a retreat on Wall Street as investors assessed fresh data that tempered expectations for a US interest rate hike but indicated weakness in the world's top economy.

The latest figures showed retail sales fell 0.6 percent on-month in July, the worst performance in over a year, while consumer sentiment plunged due to households battered by the fallout from President Donald Trump's Iran war curbing spending and raising their expectations of inflation.

Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com noted that 'taken together, the data suggest that US economic momentum may be losing some steam, strengthening expectations that the Federal Reserve could leave rates unchanged in September.'