Asia-Pacific markets set for higher open as Dow reaches new highs; Japan trade in focus

Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher on Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average reach a record close amid a strong start to the earnings season.

Investors in Asia will asses trade data out of Japan and job numbers out of Australia set for release later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,570 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,470 compared to the benchmark’s previous close of 39,180.3.

Japan’s exports are expected to grow 0.5% year-over-year for September, down from a revised rate of 5.6% in August, according to economists polled by Reuters. Meanwhile, imports are expected to have grown 3.2% in September compared to 2.3% the month prior.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.88% in early trading.

Australia’s unemployment rate for the month of September is expected to remain unchanged from August at 4.2%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 20,482, higher than the HSI’s last close of 20,286.85.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones gained 337.28 points, or 0.79%, to ended at 43,077.70.

The S&P 500 added 0.47% to 5,842.47, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.28% to close at 18,367.08.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.