Crimson clouds light up the skyline of Victoria Harbour on July 14, 2022 in Hong Kong, China.
Li Zhihua | China News Service | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to rise Friday, with Chinese stocks likely capping off a week of gains on the back of Beijing’s stimulus measures aimed at boosting the economy.
China will release its industrial profit data later in the day, this will be on a year-to-date basis through August and investors will have to wait for the next batch of data to assess the effects of Tuesday’s stimulus measures.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 20,575, higher than the HSI’s last close of 19,924.58. Should the futures data prove accurate, this would mean a more than 3% climb for the index at open.
Investors will also look to September inflation numbers from Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, which is widely considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends.
Economists polled by Reuters are expecting the core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — in the capital city to come in at 2%, down from 2.4% in August.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,570 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,330 compared to the previous close of 38,925.63
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,278, slightly higher than its last close of 8,203.7. At this level, the index would breach its all-time high of 8,246.2.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rose, with the S&P 500 hitting a new record following the release of upbeat U.S. economic data.
The broad market index climbed 0.40% to 5,745.37, lifted by gains in Micron Technology. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.60%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.62%.
A slate of fresh U.S. economic data also supported the market’s gains, with weekly jobless claims falling more than expected, pointing to a steady labor market.
Seperately, the final reading of the U.S.’ second-quarter GDP was unrevised at a strong 3%.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Brian Evans contributed to this report.