Tokyo, Japan
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Asia-Pacific markets are set to trade higher on Monday, with Japan’s markets set to continue reaching 33-year highs.
The Nikkei 225 has posted weekly gains for the last 10 weeks, and is set to extend this with a strong open. The futures contract in Chicago stood at 33,810, and its counterpart in Osaka was at 33,700 against its last close at 33,706.08.
In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 were at 7,226, higher than the index’s last close of 7,251.2.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks to start the week lower, after the index saw a strong rally last week. HSI futures stood at 19,988 compared to the HSI’s close of 20,040.37.
Asian investors will be looking ahead to China’s loan prime rate decision on Tuesday, after the world’s second largest economy cut some of its key lending rates last week.
On the diplomatic front, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Beijing on a diplomatic mission to repair strained ties between the U.S. and China.
U.S. markets will be closed Monday for the Juneteenth holiday. On Friday, all three major indexes ended the day lower after a strong showing earlier in the week. The U.S. Federal Reserve notably held rates after last week’s FOMC meeting, breaking a streak of 10 straight increases.
The S&P 500 ticked down 0.37% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.68%, but both indexes still recorded their best week since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.32%, but notched its third positive week in a row.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report
