Asia market futures pointed to a higher open on Friday after a strong session in the U.S. amid caution following a suspected terrorist shooting in Paris ahead of the first round of the presidential election at the weekend.
One policeman was killed and two were injured after a gunman opened fire in central Paris on Thursday night.
The shooting takes place just before voters head to the polls in a tightly contested presidential race, with centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen leading the pack. The euro/dollar last traded at $1.0713, higher than the $1.06 levels seen earlier this week.
Investors were also focused on fresh comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that tax reform plans could be unveiled soon.
Nikkei futures in Chicago surged 1.19 percent higher at 18,650 while Osaka futures traded up 0.87 percent at 18,590 against Thursday’s close of 18,430.49. Australia futures indicated a higher open, with SPI futures higher by 0.2 percent at 5,833 against the ASX 200 close of 5,821.389.
U.S. equities closed higher on the back of comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that tax reform plans could be unveiled soon. The Dow Jones industrial average bounced 0.85 percent or 174.22 points to close at 20,578.71 and the S&P 500 rose 0.76 percent or 17.67 points to close at 2,355.84. The Nasdaq outperformed and surged 0.92 percent to close 53.74 points higher at 5,916.78.
In corporate news, Western Digital is reportedly mulling a joint bid with Japanese government-backed players for Toshiba’s prized semiconductor business, Reuters said. Western Digital is the U.S. partner of Toshiba’s chip business.
The dollar index trekked higher on Friday, with the dollar trading at 99.837 against a basket of rivals. This is higher than the 99.6 handle seen in the previous session. The greenback made a second consecutive session of gains against the yen, trading at 109.36 compared to the 108 handle in the last session. Cable held mostly steady, with the pound/dollar trading at 1.28 at 6.35 am HK/SIN.
Oil prices were mixed as markets grappled with higher U.S. shale production and comments that OPEC output cuts were likely to be extended. U.S. crude settled down 17 cents to settle at $50.27 a barrel. Brent crude was slightly higher, gaining by 6 cents to settle at $52.99.
On the economic front, Hong Kong reports inflation and unemployment data at 4:30pm HK/SIN.