Asia markets were set for a cautious start Tuesday morning, following a mixed overnight session in the U.S. that nevertheless saw the Dow Jones industrial average notch a record closing high.
Australia’s SPI futures traded at 5,966, which was a touch lower than the ASX 200’s last close at 5,985.58.
The country’s central bank is expected to announce its monetary policy decision for December at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN. The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept its cash rate at a historic low of 1.5 percent since August last year.
Nikkei futures in Chicago traded at 22,515 and Osaka futures were at 22,630. Those indicated a lower open for the Japanese benchmark index, which closed the Monday session at 22,707.
“Markets though look to be taking their lead from the likelihood of Congress agreeing on tax cuts and, last night, another positive U.S. economy data print,” David de Garis, director of economics and markets at the National Australia Bank, wrote in an early morning note.
He pointed out the market will be paying “close attention to not only the headline print for ISM Non-manufacturing but what it might say about Friday’s payrolls from its employment component.”
In the currency market, the dollar traded at 93.097 against a basket of currencies at 6:16 a.m. HK/SIN. The greenback hovered near levels seen in the previous Asian trading session.
Among currency majors, the Japanese yen traded at 112.46 to the dollar, the Australian dollar was at $0.7596 and the euro fetched $1.1862. The common currency declined from levels from $1.19 reached late last week.
The British pound traded at $1.3476 at 6:20 a.m. HK/SIN, climbing from levels near $1.3420.
Overnight, the meeting between British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker failed to yield an agreement on the terms for Brexit between the U.K. and the European Union.
— CNBC’s Natasha Turak and David Reid contributed to this report.
Source: cnbc china
Asia to open cautiously following a mixed session on Wall Street