SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan looked set for a higher start, while investors in Asia-Pacific await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest interest rate decision.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,020 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,040. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,915.89.
Australian stocks appeared poised for a muted start, with the SPI futures contract at 7,207, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,206.30.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision at 12:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.31% to 4,121.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 16.08 points higher, or less than 0.1%, to 32,915.78. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 12,061.37.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 102.437 after a recent bounce from below 102.
The Japanese yen traded at 132.15 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 128 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7185, off levels above $0.72 seen yesterday.