Asia markets set to inch higher; Japan business sentiment improves

Asia-Pacific markets were set to inch higher after most major indexes closed lower in the previous session. Investors are watching for more economic data to help give stock markets more direction.

The tepid gains arrive after South Korean stocks retreated more than 2% from their Monday rally, while U.S. markets closed out their longest winning streaks in nearly two years. 

The Reuters Tankan poll showed Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence improved for the first time since August and service-sector mood rose for a second month, underscoring a challenging outlook amid a patchy economic recovery.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,727, pointing to a marginally higher open compared to the HSI’s close of 17,670.16.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to rise, with the futures contract in Chicago at 32,520 and its counterpart in Osaka at 32,470 against the index’s last close of 32,271.82.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed around the 6,978.50 level.

Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite clocking their longest winning streaks in nearly two years.

The S&P 500 closed 0.28% higher, while the Nasdaq jumped 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.17% at close.

The S&P 500 rose for a seventh consecutive day for the first time since its eight-day win streak in November 2021. The Nasdaq posted eight days of wins for the first time since an 11-day streak ended in November 2021. The Dow rose for a seventh straight session for its longest streak since July.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this report