The Japan Exchange Group logo is displayed on a glass door at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets were set to trade cautiously on Friday as investors kept an eye on negotiations over additional fiscal stimulus in the U.S.
Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.48%, with most sectors trading in the red. The heavily-weighted financials subindex declined 0.84% as the country’s so-called Big Four banks struggled for gains.
Nikkei futures pointed to a near flat open for the Japanese market.
Friday’s session followed a mixed end on Wall Street where the S&P 500 registered back-to-back losses — U.S. futures traded flat.
Markets are “having to balance a weak short-term picture against a much rosier medium-term as vaccines start to be rolled out,” said Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at the National Australia Bank, in a morning note. “In this environment equities have largely held onto recent gains.”
Currencies and Oil
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, last traded at 90.824.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 104.22 per dollar, relatively flat compared to its previous close. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slipped 0.11% to $0.7525.
Oil prices rose during Asian trading hours on Friday: U.S. crude futures were up 0.66% at $47.09 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent meanwhile gained more than 3% in the overnight session.
Source: CNBC