Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly higher on Monday as investors awaited a slew of economic data coming out of China. Analysts polled by Reuters expect China’s economy to have slowed in the third quarter, forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.8% in the July-to-September period compared to a year ago, easing from 5.2% in the previous quarter.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 48,605, and its counterpart in Osaka at 48,290, compared to the previous close of 47,582.15. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were also higher at 25,863, above the HSI’s Friday close of 25,247.1. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.1% lower.
Last Friday in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose as traders digested the U.S.’s softening tone on its trade talks with China and tried to move past credit concerns that sparked a big sell-off in regional banks on Thursday.
The Dow finished 238.37 points, or 0.52%, higher at 46,190.61. The S&P 500 settled up 0.53% at 6,664.01, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.52% to finish at 22,679.98.
CNBC’s Liz Napolitano and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/20/asia-pacific-markets-nikkei-225-hang-seng-index-china-gdp.html