Asia-Pacific markets set for mixed open; Australia inflation data in focus

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The Australian flag is in front of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 14, 2024.

Kristof Z. Markovics | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets were set for a mixed open Wednesday after key Wall Street benchmarks rose, with the Nasdaq Composite closing at a new record high as tech stocks gained.

Traders in Asia will assess consumer price data out of Australia, with inflation for the quarter ended in September expected to fall to 2.9%, down from 3.8% in the previous quarter.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.23% lower.

Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market, with the contract in Chicago at 39,255 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,160 compared to the index's previous close of 38,903.68.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 20,746, higher than the index's last close of 20,701.14.

In the U.S., the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.78% to close at a record high of 18,712.75.

The S&P 500 added 0.16% to close at 5,832.92, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.52 points, or 0.36%, to end at 42,233.05.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

U.S. crude oil edges lowers after worst day in two years

U.S. crude oil edged lower on Tuesday, one day after posting the worst daily loss in two years.

The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate contract fell 17 cents, or 0.25%, to $67.21 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent slipped 30 cents, or 0.42%, to $71.12 per barrel.

Energy traders breathed a sigh of relief this week after Israel's long-anticipated retaliatory strikes on Iran last Friday spared the Islamic Republic's oil and nuclear facilities. The benchmark U.S. crude oil contract sold off more than 6%, or $4.40, to $67.38 per barrel on Monday.

Oil prices have shed more than 6% so far this week.

— Spencer Kimball

The dollar's value could wane under a Trump presidency, investor warns

Some investors believe that under a Trump presidency, higher interest rates and inflation could lead to a more expensive dollar. But Erik Knutzen, co-chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman's Multi-Asset Strategies, says that the dollar could actually decline under a Trump administration.

"The dollar did rally through the end of the year after the surprise win of Trump in 2016, but the dollar declined in value for 2017 when Trump was enacting the policies that were supposedly going to be more inflationary and cause higher interest rates," he said on CNBC's "The Exchange" on Tuesday afternoon. "Trump and his cohort actually would like to see a weaker dollar to support the American economy. Yes, the dollar may have some short-term impetus, but frankly you could probably fade that trade if Trump is not elected."

Knutzen added that the dollar will probably weaken in the near term in the scenario that Trump loses the November election.

— Lisa Kailai Han