Asia-Pacific markets edge higher; RBA rate decision ahead
Markets in China, Japan and Thailand remain closed on Tuesday for holidays.
BigThink
SINGAPORE — Stocks in Australia looked set to dip at the Tuesday open, with major markets in Japan and China still closed for holidays.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Australian stocks. The SPI futures contract sat at 7,018, against the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 7,028.80.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN. Australia's trade data for March is slated to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Investors will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation in India as it shows little signs of slowing down. The World Health Organization said last week that one in every three new coronavirus cases globally is being reported in India.
Markets in China, Japan and Thailand are closed on Tuesday for holidays.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 238.38 points to close at 34,113.23 while the S&P 500 gained 0.27% to finish its trading day at 4,192.66. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged as it declined 0.5% to close at 13,895.12.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.945 following an earlier drop from above 91.2.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.10 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 108.6 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7758, following levels below $0.772 seen yesterday.
Here's a look at what's on tap:
Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN, trade data for March at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN— CNBC's Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this report.
