Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day: Asia

Good morning. The countdown to the Federal Reserve’s rate decision begins. The euphoric stock market rally confounds strategists within the same firm. The yen slumps after the Bank of Japan ends its negative policy rate. Here’s what’s moving markets. — Isabelle Lee

All eyes will be on the Federal Reserve policy meeting set to conclude Wednesday, in which officials are widely expected to hold rates steady for a fifth consecutive time. Special attention will shift to the central bank’s projections in the so-called dot plot, which has become the de facto monetary policy forecast. Bloomberg Economics’ Anna Wong expects the highly scrutinized scatter chart to show that the median FOMC participant still expects 75 basis points of rate cuts this year. “Given (Jerome) Powell’s past sensitivity to signs of slowing economic activity — as has been the case in recent months, despite hot inflation prints – he could surprise on the dovish side at the post-meeting news conference,” she wrote. The Fed will also begin in-depth discussions about its balance sheet this week. At the heart of this debate is how much more policymakers can shrink the $7.5 trillion portfolio of assets before worrisome cracks start to appear.