Stocks in Australia were higher in morning trade on Friday as investors awaited data on consumer spending patterns in the country.
ASX 200 rose 0.12 percent in early trade, with most sectors seeing gains.
Investors will be watching out for the release of Australian retail sales figures for November due at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Ahead of the data release, shares of most retailers gained; Wesfarmers rose 1.13 percent, Woolworths advanced 0.33 percent and JB Hi-Fi added 1.19 percent.
“Retail Sales data around this time of year are particularly interesting as consumer spending patterns have been shifting,” Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, said in a morning note.
Attrill cited the rise of sales days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday as resulting in households pushing their Christmas and Boxing Day expenditure forward into November.
“Markets will likely interpret any strong November Retail Sales outcome with a degree of caution — a solid result could easily be offset by a weaker December result due to these shifting seasonal spending patterns. However, if Retail Sales are weak in the month, this will likely be taken as a sign of another weak print for Consumption in (the fourth quarter),” Attrill said.
Meanwhile, futures pointed to a higher open for the Japanese markets following a Thursday decline of more than 1 percent. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were at 20,375 while their counterparts in Osaka changed hands at 20,350. The benchmark index last closed at 20,163.80.
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