Asia traders on Friday will be looking to a sliding dollar and advancing U.S. equities following the release of stateside data.

Other major news from the U.S. included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying that a “very detailed” tax plan had been prepared by President Donald Trump’s administration. In the Thursday interview with CNBC, Mnuchin also said the plan had been introduced to Congress and will be shown to the public at the end of September.

Investors stateside also digested inflation and consumer spending figures released Thursday. Consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in July, a touch below the 0.4 percent forecast, Reuters said. Meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 1.4 percent compared to the previous year, below the 1.5 percent rise seen in June.

Ahead, markets will be awaiting August nonfarm payrolls due during U.S. hours.

Major indexes on Wall Street rallied overnight: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.25 percent, or 55.67 points, to close at 21,948.10, the S&P 500 advanced 0.57 percent, or 14.06 points, to end at 2,471.65 and the Nasdaq jumped 0.95 percent, or 60.35 points, to close at 6,428.66.

Meanwhile, the dollar edged down overnight on the back of U.S. data releases. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies, fell as low as 92.561 overnight after rising above the 93 handle earlier in the session. The dollar index stood at 92.668 at 7:02 a.m. HK/SIN.

Back in Asia, futures suggested a slightly higher open for equities in Japan. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were 0.2 percent higher at 19,685 and Osaka futures were up 0.17 percent at 19,680 at 6:15 a.m. HK/SIN. Those were a touch above the Nikkei 225’s Thursday close of 19,646.24.

Down Under, SPI futures edged down 0.38 percent to 5,693 against the S&P/ASX’s previous close of 5,714.522.

Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia markets are closed for a publlic holiday.

In corporate news, Toshiba missed an Aug. 31 deadline to secure an agreement over the sale of its memory business, Reuters said Thursday. The company will reportedly continue talks with three parties over the deal.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Lotte will borrow $300 million to prop up Lotte Mart operations in China and pay off loans, Korea Herald reported Thursday. A number of Lotte stores in China have been closed due to supposed code violations after a rift developed between the two countries over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system.

On the energy front, gasoline futures rose 13.54 percent to settle at $2.1399 a gallon as close to a quarter of U.S. refining capacity stayed shuttered, Reuters reported. U.S. crude rose 2.76 percent to settle at $47.23 a barrel and Brent crude gained 2.99 percent to settle at $52.38.

Many Asia traders are awaiting the release of the Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index after official numbers showed Chinese manufacturing activity rose in August (all times in HK/SIN):

• 7:00 a.m.: South Korea second-quarter final GDP and August CPI
• 8:00 a.m.: South Korea August trade data
• 9:45 a.m.: China August Caixin manufacturing PMI