• Asian equity futures point to a mixed opening after US stocks closed higher in a volatile session as investors await inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike campaign.
• Australia’s share benchmark was little changed while contracts for Japan pointed to modest gains while those for Hong Kong signaled further declines.
• Japanese markets will be under the spotlight during the Asian trading day, with price data due that’s expected to show core inflation above 4%. That comes as the government’s nominee to be the next central bank governor, Kazuo Ueda, faces his first grilling in parliament. Investors are looking for hints on how hawkish or dovish he will be at time when markets are testing the bank’s yield-curve control program.