SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia-Pacific appeared off to a positive start on Monday as investors look forward to the release of key economic data later in the week.
Futures pointed to higher openness for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,165 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,160. Compared to Nikkei 225’s Last closed at 26,781.68.
Australian shares also looked set to open higher, with the SPI futures contract at 7,271 S&P/ASX 200K Closed at 7,182.70.
Several major data releases are expected at the end of the week. China is set to announce its official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May on Tuesday, with investors looking for clues on the economic impact of COVID-related lockdowns on the mainland.
US jobs figures are expected on Friday. Markets in the US are closed on Mondays for a holiday.
currencies
US Dollar IndexThe greenback, which tracks against a basket of his peers, was at 101.71 after a recent decline from levels above 102.
Japanese yen 127.21 per dollar, which was stronger than the greenback’s levels above 127.8 last week. Australian Dollar After climbing below $0.71 last week, it was at $0.7154.