TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 27: Pedestrians and shoppers walk through the Akihabara area on July 27, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Japan’s core consumer price index climbed by 3.3% in June, outpacing the US figure for the first time in eight years as the Bank of Japan holds its monetary policy meeting on July 27 and 28. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as traders bet that the U.S. government shutdown would be short-lived.
The shutdown is expected to last at least three days with the Senate set to be out of session Thursday stateside due to Yom Kippur, but traders are betting that the shutdown could drag on for nearly two weeks.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was set for a higher open, with its futures contract in Chicago at 44,995, and its counterpart in Osaka last trading at 44,890, against the index’s Wednesday close of 44,550.85.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 was poised for a higher open, with its futures contract trading at 8,932, against the index’s Wednesday close of 8,845.7.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open lower, with its futures contract last trading at 26,840, against the index’s previous close of 26,855.56.
Chinese and Indian markets were closed for holidays.
South Korea’s consumer price index climbed 2.1% year on year in September, more than the 2% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The latest reading compares with the 1.7% growth in August.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours after the S&P 500 recorded a fresh high Wednesday stateside.
Overnight, the broad market index gained 0.34% to close at 6,711.20. Earlier, it had hit a new all-time intraday high. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.42% to settle at 22,755.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 43.21 points, or 0.09%, to finish at 46,441.10.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
