Tokyo, Japan skyline with the Tokyo Tower
Chunyip Wong | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly fall Friday, with investors awaiting Japan’s general election over the weekend.
Japan also released its October inflation numbers for the capital city of Tokyo on Friday, its last key economic data before the election. The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting is due on Oct. 30 and 31.
Tokyo’s inflation is widely considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
The city’s headline inflation rate fell to 1.8% in October from 2.2% the month before, with core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — also coming in at 1.8%, down from 2%.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the core inflation rate in Tokyo to slow to 1.7% in October.
Based on futures data, the benchmark Nikkei 225 could go either way, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,215 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,090 against the index’s last close of 38,143.29.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 20,420 pointing to a slightly weaker open compared to the HSI’s close of 20,489.62.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 0.25%.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 bounced back on Thursday, powered by shares of Tesla rising almost 22% and snapping a three day losing streak.
The electric vehicle manufacturer surged nearly 22% after posting third-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations, registering its best day since 2013.
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.76%, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.33%, to record its first four-day losing streak since June.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.