Asia-Pacific stocks set for opening gains; Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan looked poised for a positive Tuesday start, as investors in Asia-Pacific look ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest rate decision.

The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,970 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,950. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,736.47.

Elsewhere, Australia stocks also appeared set for a higher start. The SPI futures contract sat at 7,528, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,513.70.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its latest interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

Ahead of that decision the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7542, following yesterday’s jump from below $0.75.

Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China are closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.81% to 4,582.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 103.61 points, or 0.3%, to 34,921.88. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, surging 1.9% to 14,532.55.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 99 after a recent climb from below 98.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 122.77 per dollar, weaker as compared with levels below 122 seen against the greenback last week.