SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked poised for opening declines on Friday as investors await the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy statement.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,035 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,020. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 28,279.09.
Australian stocks also looked set to slip at the open, with the SPI futures contract at 7,237.0, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,335.90.
Looking ahead, the Bank of Japan is set to release its monetary policy statement at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Friday.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 shed 0.33% to 4,360.03 while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.7% to 14,543.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 53.79 points to 34,987.02.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.624 after a recent bounce from below 92.4.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.79 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7425 following a decline from around $0.748 yesterday.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- Japan: Bank of Japan monetary policy statement at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN