SINGAPORE — Stocks in Japan were set for a positive start following overnight gains on Wall Street that saw the major indexes rallying to record closing highs.
Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei futures contract at 29,490 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 29,430. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 29,388.50.
Shares in Australia edged lower in early trade as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.02%.
Shares of oil companies in Australia advanced, with Santos up 2.27% while Oil Search gained 1.57% and Woodside Petroleum jumped 1.13%. The moves came after international benchmark Brent crude futures rose above $60 per barrel for the first time in more than a year.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.956 as it struggled to recover from a recent slip from levels above 91.2.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.20 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 105.6 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7704, above levels below $0.764 seen late last week.
Source: CNBC