The Reserve Bank of India xxxx rates August 6, 2023 as inflation cools in the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Punit Paranjpe | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower on Thursday as Wall Street declined overnight, while investors also awaited trade data from Japan and India’s rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.60%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.77%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.05%. All indexes had been up earlier in the session before Nvidia and other big technology stocks fell.
Global equities and currencies plunged earlier this week after the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to their highest levels since 2008, and the U.S. released weaker-than-expected employment numbers.
On Thursday, investors in Asia will assess trade data from Japan and interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of India.
Japan’s June trade surplus is expected to come in at around 1.789 trillion yen, according to economists polled by Reuters.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to hold rates steady at 6.5% for a ninth straight meeting.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 7,598, lower than its last close of 7,699.8.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a lower open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 34,070 and its counterpart in Osaka at 34,350 compared to the previous close of 35,089.62.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 16,735, lower than the HSI’s last close of 16,877.86.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.