SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked set for a lower Tuesday start as investors await the release of official Chinese factory activity data for May.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,325 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,320. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,369.43.
Australian stocks also appeared poised for a lower start, with the SPI futures contract at 7,283, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,286.60.
China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May is set to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday, as investors look for clues on the economic impact of Covid-related lockdowns on the mainland.
Markets in the U.S. were closed on Monday for a holiday.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 101.668 — still off levels above 102 seen last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 127.75 per dollar following yesterday’s weakening from levels below 127.2 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was at $0.7189, continuing to move higher after climbing from levels below $0.71 last week.