Asia closed mixed overnight as a chip-driven KOSPI surge offset a softer Hang Seng, while yen strength on hawkish BOJ signals bleeds into a cautious US futures open ahead of today's ISM services print and tomorrow's payrolls report.
Nikkei held near record levels, up about 0.8% near 67,500, tracking Wall Street's yield-relief rally into Wednesday's close. Hang Seng slipped roughly 0.8% on profit-taking while CSI 300 ticked up near 4,690. KOSPI was the standout, ripping about 3.7% to 6,579 on Samsung and SK Hynix strength. USD/JPY unwound sharply toward 157 after BOJ's Takata floated an outsized or back-to-back hike and Ueda flagged upside inflation risk, with a soft US ADP print adding dollar-negative fuel; USD/CNH held just above 6.73.
US futures sit flat-to-firmer, Nasdaq lagging after Broadcom's soft guidance hit semis, following Wednesday's rally when the S&P added 1.1% and the Dow gained over 600 points on Fed Governor Waller saying a hike isn't warranted if inflation keeps cooling. Today's ISM services (consensus 54.5), jobless claims and trade balance set the stage for tomorrow's payrolls, with rate swaps still near coin-flip odds on a September hike.
The risk: a hot ISM services beat or a hawkish claims surprise reignites the hike trade, snapping USD/JPY back toward 160 and unwinding the tech relief rally into Friday's jobs report - watch whether Broadcom-led semis weakness spreads into the broader Nasdaq complex.