Japan markets set to rise as investors await Australian retail sales data; oil prices slump

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Japan looked set to rise, following a tumble in oil prices overnight. Bitcoin meanwhile surged past a key level.

Nikkei futures were slightly higher than Nikkei 225's last close at 27,943.89, with the contract in Chicago at 28,015 while Osaka futures were at 27,960.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.38% higher, as miners and oil stocks declined.

Economic data for the day ahead includes Australia's retail sales for February.

Oil prices slumped overnight on demand concerns arising from a new lockdown in Shanghai, diving more than 8%.

"Shanghai accounts for 4% of China's total oil consumption. Markets are fearing the outbreak could ultimately put under threat the 15.5 [million barrels per day] of oil the country consumes," said ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes.

Wall Street on Monday gained in a tech-heavy market rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.65 points or 0.27%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31%.

Bitcoin broke past the key level of $45,000 overnight and erased its losses for 2022, jumping as high as 6.7% to $47,914.35. It was last 6% higher at $47,606.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 99.091 — jumping from levels around 98.8 from previous sessions.

The Japanese yen traded at 123.79 per dollar, continuing to weaken from around the 122 level previously. The Australian dollar was at $0.7502, stronger than recent levels around $0.74.

— CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.