Japan stocks poised to trade higher as the country reportedly prepares to extend state of emergency

  • The Japanese government is set to announce an extension till March 7 in the state of emergency covering Tokyo and other regions struggling to contain coronavirus outbreaks, Kyodo News reported citing an official with knowledge of the situation.
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its interest rate decision at around 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
  • In corporate developments, shares of Japanese game maker Nintendo will be watched by investors after the firm on Monday increased its full-year forecast for Switch games console sales.

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Japan were set to trade higher at the open following an overnight bounce on Wall Street.

Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,925 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,250. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 28,091.05.

The Japanese government is set to extend the state of emergency covering Tokyo and other regions till March 7 in order to contain the coronavirus, local media reported.

Shares in Australia edged higher in morning trade, with the S&P/ASX 200 up about 1.14%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its interest rate decision at around 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

Ahead of that announcement, the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7632, after seeing levels above $0.774 last week.

In corporate developments, shares of Japanese game maker Nintendo will be watched after the firm on Monday increased its full-year forecast for Switch games console sales.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 229.29 points to close at 30,211.91. The S&P 500 gained 1.6% to end its trading day at 3,773.86 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.6% to close at 13,403.39.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.004 after rising earlier from levels below 90.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 104.90 per dollar, weaker than levels below 104 against the greenback seen last week.

Here's a look at what's on tap:

  • Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN

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