Asia-Pacific markets set to trade mixed after Wall Street rally pauses
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,632, lower than its last close of 23,681.48.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is set to rise, with futures standing at 8,421, higher than the index's last close of 8,343.3.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,595 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 37,590, against the index's last close of 37,529.49.
Asia-Pacific markets were set to trade mixed Wednesday after Wall Street halted its six-day win streak.
Investors are also looking out for economic data from across the region. Japan is set to release its trade data for April, while the Bank of Indonesia is slated to release its policy decision later in the day.
The Bank of Indonesia slashed policy rates in September 2024, and then again in January 2025, but has kept rates on hold at 5.75% since, HSBC noted in a report.
"Given growth weakness, Bank of Indonesia may have to embark on a deep rate-cutting cycle," the bank wrote.
"For several reasons, we believe it's time to restart the easing cycle in May," the bank's economists said, citing weak first-quarter GDP growth and weakening currency against the greenback.
U.S. futures were little changed. S&P 500 futures wavered Tuesday night following a losing session on Wall Street that snapped a winning streak. Futures tied to the broad index shed 0.2%, as did Nasdaq 100 futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 93 points, or 0.2%.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed lower. Stocks slipped on Tuesday as the big tech-led rally lost steam and the S&P 500 ended a six-day winning run.
The S&P 500 fell 0.39% to end at 5,940.46, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.38% and closed at 19,142.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114.83 points, or 0.27%, finishing at 42,677.24. Investors dumped tech stocks, which had led the run over the past six days. The sector lost 0.5%. Nvidia slid 0.9%. Advanced Micro Devices, Meta Platforms, Apple and Microsoft also dropped.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
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