Bears seen lingering in Asia stock markets

WHIPSAWED regional markets look set for another bearish week without a clear catalyst to ease concerns over lacklustre corporate earnings and trade wars.

Better-than-expected US economic data last Friday did not provide much lift to markets. Over the weekend, profit growth in Chinese industrial enterprises slowed for a fifth month amid the ongoing US-China trade spat and a weakening domestic economy.

This week, Asia will continue to take its cue from US corporate results, wages and payroll data - the latter two reflect the health of the US labour market and are expected to indicate whether the Federal Reserve will continue to hike rates. Focus will be on US tech giants, carmakers, pharmaceuticals and oil majors. Apple Inc and Facebook Inc are among tech heavyweights due to report quarterly updates.