Israel hits central Iran in apparently limited retaliatory strike
Shares in Asia-Pacific set for higher start as investors await China inflation data
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked set for a higher start on Monday as investors look ahead to the release of Chinese inflation data for March.
Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,030 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,000. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,985.80.
Australia stocks also looked poised to open in positive territory. The SPI futures contract was at 7,480, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,478.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 99.778 after recently crossing the 100 level.
The Japanese yen traded at 124.38 per dollar, weaker as compared to levels below 123.2 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7455 following last week’s drop from above $0.763.