By SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade as investors await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest interest rate decision.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan held close to the flatline in early trade, while the Topix index edged 0.3% higher.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.74%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined fractionally.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan traded 0.37% lower.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision at 12:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.31% to 4,121.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 16.08 points higher, or less than 0.1%, to 32,915.78. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 12,061.37.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 102.486 after a recent bounce from below 102.
The Japanese yen traded at 132.18 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 128 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7185, off levels above $0.72 seen yesterday.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.15% to $119.69 per barrel. U.S. crude futures climbed 0.2% to $118.73 per barrel.
