Shares in Asia-Pacific set for muted start as investors monitor Covid in China, yen moves

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked set for a muted Thursday start as investors continue to watch China's Covid situation along with moves in the Japanese yen.

The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,275 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,220. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 27,217.85.

Australian stocks also looked poised for a muted start, with the SPI futures contract at 7,570, against the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 7,569.20.

Investors will watch for signs of policy support from Chinese authorities as the mainland continues to grapple with its most severe Covid wave since the initial outbreak in 2020. Strict zero-Covid policy has raised questions about China's economic outlook.

Shares on Wall Street were mixed overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 249.59 points, or 0.71%, to 35,160.79. The S&P 500 dipped fractionally to 4,459.45 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged, dropping 1.22% to around 13,453.07.

The Japanese yen traded at 127.93 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 129 against the greenback yesterday.

Still, the Japanese currency remains weaker as compared with levels below 126 seen against the dollar last week.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.39 following a recent drop from around 101.