SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan were set to trade lower at the Monday open as investors in Asia-Pacific await Chinese economic data, including the country’s GDP print for the fourth quarter.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,330 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,370. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 28,519.18.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined about 0.4% in morning trade.
Investor focus on Monday will likely be on Chinese economic data expected to be out at around 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN. That includes the country’s fourth-quarter GDP print as well as industrial production and retail sales figures for December.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Trump administration notified several suppliers to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei — including chipmaker Intel — that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese firm. That comes just days ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
Markets in the U.S. are closed on Monday for a holiday.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.73 after seeing levels below 90.3 recently.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.84 per dollar, stronger than levels above 104.1 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.771 following a slide late last week from levels above $0.775.
What’s on tap:
- China: GDP for the fourth quarter, fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales for December at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN
Source: CNBC