Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to open mixed on Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reach new highs.
With eyes on the Federal Reserve’s key rate cut decision coming Wednesday stateside, Asian investors will also look toward key economic data from Japan and the Indonesian central bank’s rate decision.
Japan is poised to release machinery orders for July which are forecast to rise 0.5% from the previous month, according to a Reuters poll, versus 2.1% month-on-month growth in June. Analysts also expect the July data to grow 4.2% from a year ago versus a decline of 1.7% in June.
Also on tap is Japan’s August trade data, with exports expected to grow 10% and imports 13.4% from a year ago according to a Reuters poll. Both forecasts suggest slower growth than last month’s revised 10.2% and 16.6%, respectively.
Bank Indonesia is set to meet Wednesday for a key BI-rate decision. The policy rate stands at its highest level since 2016, even as inflation has cooled to well within the central bank’s 1.5%-3.5% target.
South Korea and Hong Kong markets are closed today while markets in mainland China will resume trade after a nationwide three-day holiday.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,111, lower than its last close of 8,140.9.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 36,610 and its counterpart in Osaka at 36,450 compared to the previous close of 36,203.22.
Futures for mainland China’s CSI 300 stood at 3,158 slightly lower than its last Friday close at 3,159.25.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 notched an intraday record before closing below session highs but still slightly higher on the day at 5,634.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04% to close at 41,606.18 after touching a fresh record during the session.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% to 17,628.06.
Wall Street parsed through the latest retail sales data which rose 0.1% in August from the previous month, compared to the Reuters poll forecast of a 0.2% decline, indicating solid consumer health in the U.S.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.