Office workers cross the street at lunch time near Tokyo Station on Oct. 20, 2022.
Stanislav Kogiku | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to mostly fall on Friday as investors brace for a crucial jobs report from the U.S. and digest household spending data from Japan.
Japan’s household spending data for July rose 0.1% in real terms from the previous year, compared to a 1.2% rise expected from economists polled by Reuters, and a reversal compared to a 1.4% fall in June.
The weak spending report could constrain the Bank of Japan’s options to raise rates, although this may be offset by the strong wage growth numbers from Thursday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,050 and its counterpart in Osaka at 37,020 compared to the previous close of 36,657.09.
In contrast, futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 7,961, slightly lower than its last close of 7,952.4.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,431, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,444.3.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 futures were at 3,254, marginally lower than the last close of 3,257.76.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell as investors dumped risk assets and concerns mounted over the outlook for the U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.3% for a third straight day of losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.54%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.25% after rising as much as 1.2% earlier in the session.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
