A flag of Japan flies near cargo containers at Tokyo’s Odaiba Waterfront on August 6, 2020.
BEHROUZ MEHRI | Contributor | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to open lower on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street as both the S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite snapped an eight day winning streak.
The S&P 500 slid 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.33%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.15%. If the S&P had held its gains for Tuesday, it would have been the broad index’s longest winning streak since 2004.
In Asia, investors will assess Japan’s trade data for July, with economists polled by Reuters forecasting that exports are expected to come in 11.4% higher year on year, while imports are forecast to rise 14.9%.
July will be the last month of trade data recorded before the Bank of Japan’s move to raise interest rates at the end of July, which caused the yen to strengthen dramatically.
Typically, a weaker yen benefits Japanese exporters and trading houses, heavyweights on the Nikkei 225 and whose rise have been instrumental in lifting the index to its record highs.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a weaker open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,560 and its counterpart in Osaka at 37,530 compared to the previous close of 38,062.92.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 7,897, slightly lower than its last close of 7,997.7.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,360, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,511.08
—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
