Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher with Nikkei poised to extend gains

Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors looked toward a slate of megacap technology earnings to keep propelling the Nasdaq Composite to new heights this week.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a slightly stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,715 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,630 compared to the previous close of 38,605.53. This comes after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority after voters cast their ballots on Sunday to determine the control of the lower house, marking the first time since 2009 that Japan’s ruling coalition lost its majority.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.44% higher in its first hour of trade.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 20,733, higher than the HSI’s last close of 20,599.36.

Traders in Asia will also monitor Singapore and Japan’s unemployment data.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks jumped. The S&P 500 gained 0.27% to close at 5,823.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 273.17 points, or 0.65%, to end at 42,387.57. The Nasdaq rose 0.26%, closing at 18,567.19.

This week marks the busiest in the third-quarter earnings reporting season, and is the final week leading up to the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Nov. 7.

Five of the Magnificent Seven companies — Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Apple — are set to announce their latest financial results this week. Traders will also be eyeing the October jobs report due Friday.

—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.