Japan pay data, Australia trade, Singapore retail sales

Asia-Pacific markets are mostly set to open lower on Thursday, extending losses as both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped for a second straight day.

“Investors are a bit on edge; it’s a low-conviction trade. Everyone’s waiting for this Friday employment report, and until then, we’re in a bit of a holding pattern.” Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at commercial bank Truist said.

Investors in Asia are assessing July pay data out of Japan, which could provide a clue to the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy moves.

Average monthly cash earnings in the country rose 3.6% year-on-year, a softer rise compared to the 4.5% climb seen in June.

A strong pay report would give the central bank more data supporting a rate hike, while a weak report will constrain its options.

Other economic data coming from the region include trade data from Australia and retail sales numbers from Singapore.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a weaker open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 36,295 and its counterpart in Osaka at 36,250 compared to the previous close of 37,047.61.

Should the futures prove true, this will be the first time since Aug 15. that the index had dipped below the 37,000 mark.

Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 7,940, slightly lower than its last close of 7,950.

In contrast, Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,461, just marginally higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,457.34.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite was down for a second straight session.

The broad based index lost 0.16%, while the tech heavy index slipped 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, edging up 0.09%.

—CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed to this report.