Asia markets headed for mixed open ahead of Bank of Japan rate decision

Asia-Pacific market are expected to open mixed on Friday, after the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite both posted their sixth consecutive day of gains. Investors in the region will be watching the Bank of Japan rate decision.

In a note published on Thursday, Bank of America analysts stated that they did not expect to see any changes in the BOJ's policy of controlling yield curves or any rate changes.

The Nikkei 225 will likely see a second consecutive day of losses in Japan. The futures contract for Chicago is at 33 495, and the counterpart for Osaka is at 33 430, compared to its previous close of 33 485.49.

Futures for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index were trading at 7,167. This was a little lower than the last close of the index, which was 7,175. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is expected to continue its rally, after gaining more than 2% on Friday. Futures are at 19,951, compared to the HSI closing of 19,828.92.

The S&P 500 in the U.S. and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.15% and 1.22% respectively overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.26%.

Bond yields fell, but tech stocks led the market upwards -- as per the trend of Wall Street in the year 2023.

Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans of CNBC contributed to this report.

5 Hours Ago

Stocks smash historical averages in June

According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, the Dow and S&P 500 have already surpassed their historical averages by the middle of the month.

The Dow Jones averaged a 0.2% drop in June. The 30-stock average has risen 4.4% so far in this month. This is also ahead of the average monthly gain, which is typically 0.7%.

The S&P 500 also rallied by 5.5% in June, a far cry from the historic average gain of 0.1%. S&P 500's historical performance is typically 0.7% higher when averaging all previous months.

Both have defied the conventional wisdom that June is a weaker month. It has been the second-worst performance in history for the Dow, and the fourth-worst for the S&P 500.

Alex Harring

11 Hours Ago

Dollar at a record high against the yen

Comparing the U.S. Dollar to the yen, it reached a record high.

The dollar reached 141.50 yens. This is the highest level since November 23, 2022 when it reached 141.61.

The dollar index fell as the euro hit a record high against the US dollar. This was the highest level in almost a month. The dollar index was negative as the euro reached a high not seen in nearly a month.

Alex Harring and Gina Francolla