Aerial view of Seoul downtown city skyline with vehicle on expressway and bridge cross over Han river in Seoul city, South Korea.
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Wednesday, following gains on Wall Street ahead of a potential U.S. government shutdown as lawmakers continue to wrangle over details of a second temporary spending bill.
Investors in Asia will look toward the Reserve Bank of India’s rate decision late Wednesday. Investors are also awaiting the Bank of Japan’s Tankan index, which measures business sentiment among Japanese companies and is closely watched by the central bank.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,862, slightly higher than its last close of 8,848.8.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures indicated a higher open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 44,975 and its counterpart in Osaka at 44,890, compared with the previous close of 44,932.63.
Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 closed up 0.41% at 6,688.46, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.31% to finish at 22,660.01.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 81.82 points, or 0.18%, to close at 46,397.89 — a fresh closing high.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.