Japan and Australia PMI expected; yen weakens
Pedestrians cross a road in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Japan stocks led Asian markets higher Thursday, after Wall Street inched higher amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 2.57% higher while the broad-based Topix added 2%.
The yen slid to as weak as 146.54 against the U.S. dollar overnight. On Wednesday, Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters economic conditions don’t currently support another rate hike. Ishiba made his comments after meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.
Investors will look ahead to a busy slate of data in Asia. Australia’s seasonally adjusted Judo Bank Composite PMI data came in at 49.6 in September, lower from the 51.7 in August, falling past the 50 neutral mark. The services PMI posted 50.5, down from 52.5 in August.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is also expected to report the country’s trade data for August. Economists surveyed in a Reuters poll forecast a surplus of 5.5 billion Australian dollars, down from AU$6.01 billion in July.
Other data on tap include Japan’s PMI data for September and August retail sales from Hong Kong.
Markets in mainland China will remain closed until Oct. 8 for a week-long holiday, while South Korea will be shut Thursday for National Foundation Day.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.25%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 22,438, slightly lower than the HSI’s last close of 22,443.73, coming off a strong session on Wednesday when the index closed over 6% higher after hitting a 22-month high.