SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan were set to trade higher at the Friday open after overnight gains stateside that saw the S&P 500 hitting a record closing high.
Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,625 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,590. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 28,341.95.
Shares in Australia rose in morning trade as the S&P/ASX 200 gained about 1%. The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to release its monetary policy statement around 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Investor focus will likely be on the Hong Kong debut of China’s Kuaishou Technology, with shares of the short video app priced at 115 Hong Kong dollars (about $14.83) apiece.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to a record closing high of 3,871.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 332.26 points to close at 31,055.86 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2% to 13,777.74, also touching a new high.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.528 after earlier rising from levels below 91.2.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.55 per dollar after weakening from levels below 105.2 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7606, having slipped from above $0.764 yesterday.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia releases monetary policy statement at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN