Asia-Pacific markets set to open higher, tracking Wall Street gains
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Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street following a batch of economic data that pointed toward a solid U.S. economy.
Futures for Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 in Chicago were at 38,220 while their counterpart in Osaka last traded at 38,170 compared with the index's Thursday close of 38,173.09
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index last traded at 24,178, compared with the HSI's last close of 24,035.38.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was also set to start the day higher, with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,605, compared to the index's close of 8,565.1 in the previous session.
U.S. stock futures ticked lower but major stock benchmarks were on course to end the week on a positive note. U.S. producer prices in May rose just 0.1% from the previous month, coming in cooler than the 0.2% jump expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The softer reading helped boost major stock indexes, while bond yields declined, improving investor sentiment. This followed a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation report earlier in the week.
Overnight stateside, all three key benchmarks closed higher. The S&P 500 rose, helped by a rally in Oracle that lifted the big tech sector. The benchmark climbed 0.38% to close at 6,045.26. The broad market S&P 500 now sits less than 2% off its record high. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% and ended the day at 19,662.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 101.85 points, or 0.24%, settling at 42,967.62.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han, Pia Singh, Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
The major averages closed Thursday's trading on a positive note.
The S&P 500 added 0.38%, ending at 6,045.26. The advance brings the broad market index less than 2% off from its February record high. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% to close at 19,662.48. Finally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 101.85 points, or 0.24%, settling at 42,967.62.
— Darla Mercado
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