Asia markets are set for another cautious open after Wall Street posted losses on its first trading day of the month, with trade concerns continuing to weigh.
Nikkei futures in Chicago were at 22,720, while Osaka futures were at 22,690. The index last closed at 22,696.90.
In Australia, SPI futures were at 6,262.0, as compared to the ASX 200's last close at 6,293.1.
Over in the U.S., stocks on Wall Street posted Tuesday losses on their first trading day of September following the Labor Day holiday on Monday. The S&P 500 fell by 0.2 percent to close at 2,896.72 while the Nasdaq Composite also slid by 0.2 to 8,091.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 12.34 points to close at 25,952.48.
Later Wednesday, Canada is set to engage in further trade negotiations with the U.S. after the two sides failed to come to an agreement last week. Last Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress of his desire to sign a trade a trade agreement with Mexico, and possibly Canada, in 90 days.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 95.439 as of 6:51 a.m. HK/SIN.
"This could be a good week for the U.S. dollar especially as the technical picture coincides with the fundamental one," Kathy Lien, a managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a morning note, pointing to activity in the manufacturing sector "expanding at its fastest pace in 14 years."
"The big dollar remains in the ascendancy from a triple whammy of more EM risk, this time from (South African rand) weakness, a new cycle high in the US ISM Manufacturing index for August and the uncertainty looming over the possible 25% tariffs on an additional $200 (billion) of Chinese imports into the US," said David de Garis, a director of economics and markets at National Australia Bank, offering an alternative explanation for the greenback's recent strength.
The Japanese yen held largely firm against the dollar at 111.47 yen. The Australian dollar was also largely flat at $0.7179 as of 6:54 a.m. HK/SIN.
On Tuesday, oil prices remained largely unchanged. The global benchmark Brent crude ended 2 cents firmer to settle at $78.17 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up 7 cents to settle at $69.87 a barrel.
Here's a look at the day ahead:
- Australia releases data for GDP for the second quarter of 2018 at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
- China sees the release of the Caixin August services, composite Purchasing Managers' Index at 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN
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