SYDNEY: Asian share markets were mostly softer on Monday ahead of a slew of Chinese economic news, while political uncertainty in Europe soured risk appetites and kept the euro on the defensive.
Analysts expect annual growth in China's retail sales picked up to 3.0% in May, from 2.3%, with some upside risk thanks to holidays that month. Industrial output is seen slowing a little to 6.0%, from 6.7%, with growth in urban investment steady.
There was also talk the People's Bank of China (PBOC) could cut a key lending rate by 10 basis points, in part due to surprisingly weak bank lending data released on Friday.
That made for a cautious start, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a fraction softer.
Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.7%, with investors now facing a six-week wait to hear details of the Bank of Japan's next tightening steps.
S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures edged up 0.1% after a run of record finishes.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs have raised their year-end target for the S&P 500 to 5,600, from 5,200 and the current 5,431.
"Our 2024 and 2025 earnings estimates remain unchanged but stellar earnings growth by five mega-cap tech stocks have offset the typical pattern of negative revisions to consensus EPS estimates," they wrote in a note.
The main U.S. data of the week will be retail sales for May on Tuesday, where a 0.4% bounce is expected after a 0.3% drop in April, while markets have a holiday on Wednesday.
At least 10 policy makers from the Federal Reserve are due to speak this week and will no doubt address the market's wagers for two rate cuts this year.
While the Fed itself sounded a hawkish note last week, a trio of soft inflation numbers led futures price in a 76% chance of a cut as early as September and 50 basis points of easing for the year.