Asia markets poised to open lower; Japan inflation accelerates in February

Asia-Pacific markets were set to edge lower as investors assess Japan’s inflation reading for February, the first set of economic data from the country since the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy in a landmark shift.

Japan’s headline inflation rate for February came in at 2.8%, climbing from the 2.2% seen in February. Core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — also came in at 2.8% compared with 2% in the previous month.

The BOJ, in its monetary policy statement on Tuesday said that “the price stability target of 2 percent would be achieved in a sustainable and stable manner.”

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.17% lower.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to edge lower after the inflation reading, with the futures contract in Chicago at 40,815 and its counterpart in Osaka at 40,800 against the index’s last close of 40,815.66

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,747, pointing to a weaker open after the index gained almost 2% on Thursday and finished at 16,863.1.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes hit fresh records, continuing the rally from Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady and maintained its rate cut forecast for 2024.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 269.24 points, or 0.68%, to close at 39,781.37. The S&P 500 advanced 0.32% to end at 5,241.53, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.20% to finish at 16,401.84.

“People have faith in the Fed right now, and that cuts are coming,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “We are in a good place, and the market believes in the smooth landing narrative. Whatever the Fed is saying continues to be the music to the ears of the market.”

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Alex Harring contributed to this report