SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were set for a mixed start on Tuesday, after major indexes on Wall Street surged to record closing highs overnight stateside.
Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 30,280 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 30,250. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 30,089.25.
Stocks in Australia, on the other hand, looked set for a muted start. The SPI futures contract sat at 6,826, as compared with the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 6,828.70.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its interest rate decision at around 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
A private survey on China’s services sector activity in March is also expected to be out. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index for March is set to be released at around 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
Markets in Hong Kong are closed on Tuesday for a holiday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 373.98 points record closing high of 33,527.19. The S&P 500 also saw a record close as it rose 1.44% to 4,077.91. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.67% to finish its trading day at 13,705.59.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.022 — above an earlier slip to below 92.7.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.17 per dollar, weaker than levels around 109.5 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7658 following a bounce yesterday from around $0.76.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN
- China: Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index at 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN
Source: CNBC