Asia markets to mostly fall as Japan’s inflation rises slightly in June

Asia-Pacific markets are set to mostly fall on Friday as investors look to Japan’s consumer price index figures for June. The country’s core inflation rate – which strips out costs of fresh food – came in at 3.3%, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

This is slightly higher than May’s figure of 3.2%, and also above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. The inflation print will give clues to the Bank of Japan’s moves when it meets next week for its rate decision.

Governor Kazuo Ueda stated in a recent Reuters report that “there was still some distance to sustainably and stably achieving the central bank’s 2% inflation target,” signaling that the BOJ’s ultra-loose monetary policy could be maintained for the time being.

The Nikkei 225 is set to fall as it ends the week, with the futures contract in Chicago at 32,360, and its counterpart in Osaka at 32,310 against its last close at 32,490.52.

In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 were at 7,282, lower than the index’s last close of 7,325.

In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set to open higher, with futures at 18,935 compared to the HSI’s last close of 18,928.02.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped for a ninth straight day after better-than-expected earnings results from drug maker Johnson & Johnson. It was the Dow’s best daily winning streak since 2017.

Despite this, the broader market suffered after post-earnings declines in trader favorites Netflix and Tesla. The S&P 500 slipped 0.68% and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.05%.

—  CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report