Key Points: Futures pointed to a lower open for stocks in Japan and Australia.Australia jobs data for April is set to be released at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Thursday.U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that more may need to be done to support the economy.
Stocks in Asia were set to trade lower on Thursday following an overnight drop for stocks stateside.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 20,200 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 20,130. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 20,267.05.
Shares in Australia were also set to decline at the open, with the SPI futures contract at 5,366 as compared to the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 5,421.90.
On the economic data front, Australia jobs data for April is set to be released at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Thursday.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 516.81 points to close at 23,247.97 while the S&P 500 finished its trading day around 1.75% lower at 2,820. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6% to close at 8,863.17.
The moves downward stateside came as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that more may need to be done to support the economy.
"While the economic response has been both timely and appropriately large, it may not be the final chapter, given that the path ahead is both highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks," Powell said in prepared remarks for a webcast event with the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.242 after earlier rising from levels below 100.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.02 after seeing levels around 106.8 yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.6455 after weakening from highs above $0.654 seen earlier in the trading week.
What's on tap for Thursday:
Australia: Employment change for April at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
原文地址：https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/asia-markets-australia-jobs-data-coronavirus-currencies-in-focus.html