SINGAPORE — Futures in Asia-Pacific point to a mixed open on Friday as investors look ahead to the release of U.S. jobs data for June.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 26,670 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 26,620. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 26,490.53.
In Australia, SPI futures were at 6,603, lower than the S&P/ASX 200‘s last close at 6,648.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to report its nonfarm payrolls data Friday stateside. Economists expect a gain of 250,000 jobs for June, according to a Dow Jones survey. That would be less than the 390,000 jobs added in May.
In company news, SoftBank on Thursday said Rajeev Misra will step down as CEO of SoftBank Global Advisors, but remain in two other positions.
Overnight in the U.S., major indexes rose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 346.87 points, or about 1.12%, to close at 31,384.55. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% to 3,902.62, while the Nasdaq Composite added 2.28% to 11,621.35.
European markets rose on Thursday as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 107.130 after strengthening earlier this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 135.98 per dollar, and the Australian dollar was at $0.6841, trying to rise after falling following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to raise rates on Tuesday.
