Japan stocks set for higher start as investors await U.S. inflation data

SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan looked set to trade higher at the Thursday open as investors await the release of U.S. consumer inflation data.

The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,885 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,820. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,579.87.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.79% in morning trade.

Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of India is set to announce its interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Thursday.

Ahead of that announcement, the Indian rupee was at 74.7872 per dollar, stronger than levels close to 75 seen against the greenback earlier this month.

The U.S. consumer price index report is also set to be released Thursday stateside.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 305.28 points to 35,768.06 while the S&P 500 gained 1.45% to 4,587.18. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, surging 2.08% to 14,490.37.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.558.

The Japanese yen traded at 115.58 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 115 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7179, largely holding on to gains after its climb from below $0.712 earlier in the week.