Japan’s Nikkei 225 index is poised to open lower after four consecutive sessions of gains that pushed the benchmark up more than 750 points, or roughly 1.9 percent.
The index closed Thursday at 39,849.14, surging 476.91 points or 1.21 percent after trading between 39,827.59 and 40,091.55 during the session.
Financial and technology shares drove Thursday’s advance, while the automobile sector delivered a more mixed performance across major producers.
Sony Group was among the standout performers, soaring 2.97 percent, with Panasonic Holdings surging 2.74 percent and Mitsubishi Electric spiking 2.00 percent.
Softbank Group jumped 1.93 percent and Toyota Motor rallied 1.34 percent, while Hitachi advanced 0.95 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.52 percent.
Nissan Motor was the session’s notable laggard, stumbling 2.16 percent, while both Mazda Motor and Honda Motor each shed 0.50 percent.
Wall Street delivered a negative lead for Asian markets, with the major averages opening mixed Thursday before sliding steadily lower and finishing near session lows.
The Dow dropped 234.44 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 43,914.12, while the NASDAQ sank 132.05 points or 0.66 percent to close at 19,769.84 and the S&P 500 lost 32.94 points or 0.54 percent to end at 6,051.25.
Thursday’s weakness followed a historic session the prior day, when the tech-heavy NASDAQ closed above 20,000 for the first time ever, prompting traders to lock in gains.
A Labor Department report showing producer prices rose by more than expected in November added to negative sentiment, fueling concern about the pace of future Federal Reserve rate cuts.
While the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to lower interest rates at its upcoming meeting, the hotter producer price data has raised questions about how aggressively the central bank will act early next year.
Oil futures also weighed on sentiment, with West Texas Intermediate Crude falling $0.27 or 0.4 percent to settle at $70.02 a barrel after the International Energy Agency forecast excess supply in the oil market next year.
Domestically, the Bank of Japan is set to release its quarterly Tankan survey of economic sentiment, with the large manufacturers index expected to hold steady at a score of +13 with an outlook of +14.
The small manufacturing index is forecast to slip to -2, down from 0 in the previous survey, while large all-industry capital expenditure is expected to rise 9.6 percent, easing from 10.6 percent in the third quarter.
Japan will also see final October industrial production figures, with forecasts pointing to a monthly increase of 3.0 percent, accelerating from the 1.6 percent gain recorded the prior month.
