A city view seen from the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan on November 24, 2023.
Ahmet Furkan | Anadolu | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to rise, with Japan posed to extend its record-breaking rally ahead of U.S. inflation figures for December.
The country’s benchmark Nikkei 225 crossed the 34,000 mark on Wednesday, a level it has not hit since March 1990. The broader based Topix also hit 33-year highs.
The Nikkei is set to extend its run, with the futures contract in Chicago at 34,940 and its counterpart in Osaka at 34,860 against the index’s last close of 34,441.72.
Investors in Asia will also keep an eye on the Bank of Korea, which will be announcing its rate decision. Economists polled by Reuters expect the bank to hold its benchmark lending rate at 3.5% for its eighth meeting in a row.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.31% higher, rebounding from Wednesday’s losses and ahead of the country’s November trade data.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,150, also pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI’s close of 16,097.28.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes gained, with traders awaiting the release of fresh U.S. inflation data and earnings.
Investors will also be looking out for the U.S. consumer price index report slated for release Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the CPI rose 3.2% year over year in December. The producer price index reading is due on Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.57%, while the Dow Jones industrial Average added 0.45%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.75% to settle at 14,969.65.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report