Asia-Pacific stocks set for mixed start; investors watch tech shares after Nasdaq hits all-time high

• The Bank of Japan is set to release minutes from its April monetary policy meeting at 7:50 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.
• Investors will watch technology shares in Asia-Pacific after the Nasdaq Composite rose to an all-time high overnight on Wall Street.

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked poised for a mixed start on Wednesday following overnight gains stateside that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising to a record high.

Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,850 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,790. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 28,884.13. The Bank of Japan is set to release minutes from its April monetary policy meeting at 7:50 a.m. HK/SIN.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia looked set to nudge higher at the open. The SPI futures contract was at 7,248, versus the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 7,342.2.

Investors will monitor technology shares in Asia-Pacific after the Nasdaq Composite touched a new intraday record overnight on Wall Street, climbing 0.79% on the day to 14,253.37. The S&P 500 also gained 0.51% to 4,246.44 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 68.61 points to 33,945.58.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.756 after a recent decline from above 91.8.

The Japanese yen changed hands at 110.65 per dollar, having weakened from below 110 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.755, staying above the $0.752 level that it has traded around for much of the trading week so far.

Here's a look at what's on tap:

• Japan: Bank of Japan's April monetary policy meeting minutes at 7:50 a.m. HK/SIN

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