Asian Stocks Rise as US Data Eases Rate Fears

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

The Federal Reserve's decision to leave rates unchanged next month has boosted equities, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to records last week. But figures on Friday raised questions about the health of the economy, with retail sales falling 0.6 percent on-month in July - the worst performance in over a year.

Consumer sentiment plunged as households battered by fallout from President Donald Trump's Iran war curbed spending and raised their expectations of inflation. Payrolls data at the start of the month was followed by broadly in-line inflation, softer retail sales, and weaker consumer sentiment, according to Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.

Traders now put the chances of a Fed hike at one in four, compared with 50:50 last week, according to Bloomberg. The release of earnings this week from retail titans Walmart, Home Depot, and Target may give a clearer view of consumer sentiment.