pedestrians walking across with crowded traffic at Shibuya crossing square.Shibuya crossing is the busiest road crossing in the world. Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan,
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Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains on expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be softer than expected earlier.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.71% higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market. The futures contract in Chicago was at 37,900 and its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,820 compared to the index’s previous close of 37,780.54.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 23,478 also higher than the HSI’s last close of 23,344.25.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the White House’s planned tariffs set for April 2 are expected to be narrow in scope. Trump also on Friday suggested some “flexibility” for his reciprocal tariff plans for trading partners. However, U.S. consumers’ confidence is taking a hit.
“As President Trump prepares to escalate the trade war next week, U.S. consumers are increasingly inflation-weary, their finances are more fragile, and they face higher risks in the labor market,” Morning Consult wrote in a note, adding that U.S. consumers are expected to cut spending across all income brackets.
U.S. stock futures were little changed after the S&P 500 posted a marginal gain, marking its third positive session in a row.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major averages closed higher. The S&P 500 posted a slim gain, adding 0.16% to close at 5,776.65. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.46% and ended at 18,271.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average crept higher by 4.18 points, or 0.01%, to settle at 42,587.50.
CNBC’s Pia Singh and Hayung Kim contributed to this report.