People commuting to work in the morning cross a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo on February 15, 2024.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly up, with Japan’s key benchmark hitting new highs on Friday, after scaling record peaks in the previous session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued its record-breaking run, climbing 0.46% in early trade. The broad-based Topix also extended its gains and advanced 0.06% to a fresh record high.
Japan’s household spending for May unexpectedly dipped 1.8% in real terms compared to the same period last year. Economists polled by Reuters had estimated a 0.1% rise.
Household spending data is a key metric for the Bank of Japan’s to assess its goal of realizing a “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices.
Average spending per household in May was 290,328 yen ($1,799.28), while average monthly income stood at 500,231 yen, up 6.4% in nominal terms and 3% higher in real terms from the previous year.
Investors will also be assessing retail sales numbers out from Singapore later today.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.45% higher, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.25%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.14%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 18,004, lower than the HSI’s last close of 18,028.28.
Overnight in the U.S., markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday, but futures were little changed ahead of Friday’s trading session.
Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures were trading marginally below the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.05% up.
