Asia-Pacific shares set to open lower as recession fears weigh on investor sentiment

SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia-Pacific opened lower on Friday after a sharp fall on Wall Street, as investors weighed the prospect of aggressive monetary policy tightening, triggering a recession.

Futures pointed to lower openness for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 25,750, while its counterpart in Osaka was at 25,670. Nikkei 225’s Last closed at 26,431.20.

Australian shares also looked set to open lower, with SPI at 6,325 against futures contracts S&P/ASX 200Last closed at 6,591.10.

Shares on Wall Street fell sharply overnight, with the S&P 500 falling 3.25% to 3,666.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 741.46 points, or 2.42%, to end at 29,927.07. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4.08% to 10,646.10.

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currencies

US Dollar IndexThe greenback, which tracks against a basket of his peers, was at 103.631 after a recent decline from levels above 105.

Australian Dollar Changed hands at $0.7043 after a recent rally from below the $0.702 level.