- Overnight on Wall Street, stocks eked out small gains.
- Investors will monitor Chinese assetsafter FTSE Russell announced Thursday that Chinese government bonds are scheduled to be included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index starting October 2021.
- Investors will also watch developments on potential U.S. coronavirus stimulus. House Democrats are preparing a new $2.4 trillion stimulus plan as the party looks to restart negotiations with the White House following talks that fell apart last month.
SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific edged higher in Friday morning trade following a volatile session overnight on Wall Street.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.48% while the Topix index shed 0.52%. South Korea's Kospi also advanced 0.67%.
Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.81%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.33% higher.
Investors will monitor Chinese assets after FTSE Russell announced Thursday that Chinese government bonds are scheduled to be included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index starting October 2021.
Overnight on Wall Street, stocks eked out small gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 52.31 points higher, or 0.2%, at 26,815.44. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to finish its trading day at 3,246.59 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to close at 10,672.27. The moves stateside came in a wild session that saw the Dow down more than 200 points at its session low and up more than 300 points at one point.
Investors will also watch developments on potential U.S. coronavirus stimulus. House Democrats are preparing a new $2.4 trillion stimulus plan as the party looks to restart negotiations with the White House following talks that fell apart last month.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 94.303 after rising from levels below 93 this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.46 per dollar, having weakened from levels below 104.4 against the greenback this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7053, following this week's slip from levels above $0.72.
Oil prices dipped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.31% to $41.81 per barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.27% to $40.20 per barrel.
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