Asia-Pacific markets poised for lower open; China to announce its benchmark lending rate

Asia-Pacific markets poised for lower open; China to announce its benchmark lending rate

SINGAPORE — Shares in the Asia-Pacific markets gained on Friday as a volatile trading week comes to a close and investors watch for the release of China's benchmark lending rate. Japan's rose 0.41% in early trade, while the Topix advanced 0.23%. Japan's core consumer prices, which include energy costs but not fresh food, rose 2.1% in April compared to a year earlier, in line with economists' estimates, Reuters reported. The in Australia was 0.74% higher. In South Korea, the gained around 1%, and the Kosdaq climbed 0.91%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.46%. Chinese electric vehicle maker is set to start trading in Singapore, the third exchange its shares are listed on. In other developments in the day ahead, China is expected to cut its benchmark lending rates, Overnight on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 moving closer to a bear market. Investors fear that the Fed hikes could tip the U.S. into a recession. The S&P 500 fell 0.58% to 3,900.79, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 236.94 points, or 0.75%, to 31,253.13. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.26% to 11,388.50. Those moves followed sharp drops on Wednesday. Currencies The , which tracks the