Asia markets are set for a cautious open on Wednesday after the White House restated its tough stance on trade.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 23,875, while their counterpart in Osaka was at 23,810. The Nikkei 225 last closed at 23,940.26.
In Australia, the SPI futures contract was at 6,186.0 as compared to the last close on the ASX 200 at 6,185.9.
South Korean markets are closed for a public holiday.
In market action on Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 69.84 points to 26,492.21 while the S&P 500 ended the trading day 0.1 percent lower at 2,915.56. The Nasdaq Composite, however, saw a gain of 0.2 percent to 8,007.47 on the back of advances in Amazon and Apple shares.
On Tuesday, U.S President Donald Trump reiterated his administration’s stance on trade, telling the United Nations General Assembly that his country would “no longer tolerate abuse” on that front.
Trump’s statement came after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said his country was ready to move ahead on a trade deal with Mexico even if it excluded Canada, as negotiations with Ontario remained at an impasse. “We’re not going to say ‘no deal because of Canada.’ That doesn’t make any sense at all,” he told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In currency news, the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 94.133 as of 7:06 a.m. HK/SIN, off its earlier lows.
The Japanese yen traded largely flat at 112.98 against the dollar, while the Australian dollar firmed at $0.7250, as of 7:09 a.m. HK/SIN.
