On August 6, 2020, a Japanese flag flew near a container on the Odaiba waterfront in Tokyo.
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Asia-Pacific markets are set to open lower on Wednesday, following Wall Street, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping eight-day winning streaks.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.33%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%. If the S&P holds gains on Tuesday, it would be the index’s longest winning streak since 2004.
In Asia, investors will assess Japan’s July trade data, with economists polled by Reuters predicting that exports are expected to rise 11.4% year-on-year and imports are expected to rise 14.9%.
July will be the last month of trade data recorded before the Bank of Japan raises interest rates at the end of July, causing the yen to strengthen sharply.
Typically, a weaker yen benefits Japanese exporters and trading companies, which are heavyweights in the Nikkei 225, and their gains have helped push the index to a record high.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index Futures showed that the market opened weaker, with the Chicago futures contract at 37,560 points and the Osaka futures contract at 37,530 points, compared with the previous closing price of 38,062.92 points.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index futures were at 7,897 points, slightly lower than the previous closing point of 7,997.7 points.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Futures index reported at 17,360 points, lower than the last closing point of the Hang Seng Index of 17,511.08 points
—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
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