SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Friday morning trade as investors look ahead to the release of China’s inflation data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.13% in early trade while the Topix index shed 1%.
Olympics organizers will ban spectators from the upcoming summer games in Tokyo, after a state of emergency was declared by Japan as the country sees rising Covid-19 cases.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi also dropped 1.04%. South Korea announced Friday that the greater Seoul area will be placed under the toughest social distancing rules of Level 4, according to local news agency Yonhap.
Elsewhere, Australian stocks also declined as the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.15%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.15% lower.
On the economic data front, China’s consumer price index and producer price index for June is set to be out at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Friday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 259.86 points to 34,421.93 while the S&P 500 declined 0.86% to 4,320.82. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.72% to 14,559.78.
The losses came on the back of U.S. Labor Department’s latest jobless claims data which was unexpectedly higher, hinting at a potential slowdown in the labor market.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.359 following a recent decline from above 92.7.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.78 per dollar, stronger than levels around 110.6 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7434, still below levels above $0.755 seen earlier in the week.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.26% to $74.31 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.36% to $73.20 per barrel.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- China: Consumer price index and producer price index for June at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
Source: CNBC