Stocks in Asia were little changed in Monday morning trade as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy stateside may need a coronavirus vaccine to fully recover.
Mainland Chinese stocks edged lower in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down 0.2% while the Shenzhen composite shed 0.488%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong also dipped 0.28%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.16% in morning trade while the Topix index rose fractionally. South Korea's Kospi was largely flat.
Meanwhile in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.96%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.1% lower.
Oil prices jumped in the morning of Asian trading hours on expectations of demand pick-up and supply cuts. International benchmark Brent crude futures rose 3.75% to $33.72 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also added 3.98% to $30.60 per barrel.
Investors watched for reaction to Powell's recent comments to CBS' "60 Minutes."
"Assuming there's not a second wave of the coronavirus, I think you'll see the economy recover steadily through the second half of the year," the central bank chief said. However, he added that "for the economy to fully recover ... that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine."
"There is no question that the outlook remains grim," Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, wrote in a note. "US-China friction and the inability to plot a path of recovery from COVID leave much up in the air; and arguably, a little much reliance on policy silver bullets to deliver respite."
On the economic data front, Japan's economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.4% in January-March, Reuters reported Monday citing government data. That marked the country's second straight quarter of contraction, meeting the technical definition of a recession, according to Reuters.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.363 after seeing highs around 100.5 last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.13 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 107.6 seen early last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.644 following a decline from levels above $0.65 in the previous week.
— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
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Asia stocks little changed; Fed Chair Powell assesses prospects of U.S. economic recovery - CNBC
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