View of the Shanghai skyline from the container station.
Yao Rusheng | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly set to gain ahead of China’s trade data for April and Japan’s wage statistics.
Economists polled by Reuters expected China’s exports to grow 1.5%, reversing a 7.5% decline in March. Imports are expected to increase by 4.8% year-on-year in April, after falling by 1.9% in March.
Separately, investors will assess Japan’s wage statistics for signs of a “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices envisioned by the Bank of Japan.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index The Chicago futures contract is at 38,435 and the Osaka futures contract is at 38,380, while the index last closed at 38,202.37.
Futures are S&P/ASX 200 Index The opening price was 7,806 compared to the last closing price of 7,804.5.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were quoted at 18,277 points, opening weaker than the Hang Seng Index’s closing point of 18,313.86 points.
Overnight in America, Dow Jones Industrial Average Its winning streak extended to six days as investors shrugged off some weakness in technology stocks.
The Dow Jones rose 0.44%, marking its longest consecutive winning streak in 2024. S&P 500 Index edged lower and closed near the horizontal line, while Nasdaq Index It fell 0.18%.
Investors are also digesting a raft of comments from the Fed. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in a speech on Wednesday that the Fed’s interest rate policy may need to remain at current levels until inflation is “sustainably” close to the central bank’s 2% target.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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