A view of the automated container port in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province.
Zhang Jingang | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific stock markets opened mixed on Friday as investors awaited key economic data from China and Japan and the market was assessing interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank.
A Reuters survey of economists showed that China’s exports are expected to increase by 6% year-on-year in May, higher than the 1.5% increase in April. Imports are expected to increase by 4.2% annually, down from 8.4% in April.
Japan is to release household spending data for April, a key indicator of whether the Bank of Japan’s expectations for a “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices are coming true.
April wages are key to watch as wage increases typically take effect this month when Japanese companies restart their fiscal years.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index The Chicago futures contract was at 38,620 points and the Osaka futures contract was at 38,610 points, while the index’s last closing price was 38,703.51 points.
In contrast, Australian futures S&P/ASX 200 Index The opening price was 7,852 points and the final closing price was 7,821.8 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were quoted at 18,499 points, opening stronger compared with the Hang Seng Index’s closing point of 18,476.8 points.
U.S. markets remained within a narrow range overnight, with traders looking ahead to Friday’s May non-farm payrolls report and investors looking for signs of labor market weakness, which could support a rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 index fell slightly on Thursday after hitting an all-time intraday high earlier in the day. The Nasdaq edged down 0.09%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
“To me, the market still thinks the economy is in good shape and is not releasing any recession news,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird. “But what may be the case is that the Fed has The policy has been too tight for too long, and it will be difficult to stop the cooling of the job market once it starts.”
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
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