People watch the first sunrise of the new year from a footbridge overlooking the city skyline in Seoul on January 1, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded around the flatline.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market. The futures contract in Chicago was at 37,695 and its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,700 compared to the index’s previous close of 37,418.24.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 23,962, also higher than HSI’s last close of 23,594.21.
South Korea’s consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2% gain in January.
The White House on Wednesday announced a one-month delay on tariffs for automakers whose vehicles comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also said that Trump was “open” to additional tariff exemptions beyond the pause on auto levies.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P 500 added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.