Asia markets poised for weaker open ahead of U.S. inflation data

Asia-Pacific markets are set to fall as investors brace for July consumer price index data out from the U.S. on Thursday.

Expectations from economists polled by Reuters are the inflation rate will come in at 3.3%, slightly higher from the 3% seen in June.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is set for a weaker open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 32,170 and its counterpart in Osaka at the same level against the index’s last close of 32,204.33. Japan will release its wholesale inflation readings — which measures the price companies charge each other for goods and services — later today.

However, in Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 point to a lower open, at 7,279 compared to the last close of 7,338.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 19,168, pointing to a lower open compared to the HSI’s last close of 19,246.03.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses and shedding 1.17%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.54%, while the S&P 500 shed 0.7%.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report