ASIA NIGHT SESSION | Nikkei and Hang Seng Futures Ease Overnight While KOSPI Futures Firm as US Holiday Thins Trade

According to JPX, Yonhap and the Hong Kong Economic Times, Asian index futures traded quietly in the overnight session, with US cash markets shut for the Labor Day holiday leaving ADRs untraded and thinning global flows. The yen touched a seven-month high against the dollar and gold slipped as firm US jobs data kept rate-hike expectations alive, while oil held near a six-week high on Middle East tensions. Nikkei 225 futures on the Osaka Exchange eased in the overnight session. The near-month September contract settled its night session at 66,070, down 420 points or about 0.63%, trading between 65,860 and 66,450 on volume of 2,885 lots, per JPX official data. South Korea's KOSPI 200 night futures pointed higher, rising 1.22% as of the morning read, extending the cash market's momentum after the KOSPI closed 4.61% higher on Monday at 6,995.39. Yuanta Securities researcher Lee Jae-won said the rebound was driven mainly by renewed AI-demand expectations following OpenAI's Astra launch, adding that gains in KOSDAQ and small- and mid-caps were more limited as conviction in semiconductor earnings, rather than a broad easing of rate pressure, drove the move. Hang Seng Index futures slipped in Hong Kong's after-hours session, with the night contract closing at 25,254, down 82 points, as HSBC's London shares eased 0.1% and traded 0.2% below the Hong Kong close. ADRs were suspended with US markets closed. Taiwan's TAIEX futures edged lower overnight. The near-month September contract closed the after-hours session at 47,329, down 133 points or 0.28%, moving between 47,251 and 47,536 on volume of 9,784 lots, according to TAIFEX.