Asia markets set for muted start as investors assess S&P 500’s four-day losing streak
Evening view of Marine Drive, Queen’s necklace, Juhu and Chowpatty beaches
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Asia-Pacific markets were poised for a muted start to the day as investors assessed the four-day losing streak for the S&P 500, led by declines in tech stocks.
Investors in the region are awaiting India’s HSBC Composite flash purchasing managers’ index reading for August, which provides an early snapshot of the performance of the private sector economy, expected later in the day. Economists polled by Reuters expect it to come in at 60.5, compared to 61.1 in the month before.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to open flat, with the futures contract in Chicago at 42,880 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 42,820, against the index’s Wednesday close of 42,888.55.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day lower, with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,902, compared with the index’s last close of 8,918.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is slated to open flat with futures tied to the index at 25,168, compared with the HSI’s last close of 25,165.94.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asia hours.
Overnight stateside, two of the three key benchmarks ended the session in declines as tech stocks dragged the market lower.
The broad market S&P 500 index slipped 0.24% to close at 6,395.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.67% and settled at 21,172.86. Wednesday marked a fourth day of losses for the S&P 500 and a second negative session for the Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, adding 16.04 points, or 0.04%, and settling at 44,938.31.
— CNBC’s Yun Li, Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
