SINGAPORE — Shares in the Asia-Pacific were set to trade mixed Wednesday after a sharp bounce in U.S. stocks overnight.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,415 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,380. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,961.68.
SPI futures in Australia were at 6,626, lower than the S&P/ASX 200‘s last close at 6,649.6.
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe on Wednesday said inflation for the June quarter to be released next week will show a further step-up, and there needs to be a path back to 2% to 3% inflation.
Prices rose 5.1% in the March quarter. In his speech, Lowe also said the neutral nominal rate is at least 2.5%, whereas current rates are at 1.35%.
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday stateside following strong earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 754.44 points, or 2.43%, to 31,827.05. The S&P 500 jumped 2.76% to 3,936.69 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.11% to 11,713.15.
China is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged Wednesday.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 106.682, weaker compared to recent levels.
The Japanese yen traded at 138.15 per dollar and the Australian dollar was at $0.69, strengthening from earlier this week.
