Asia-Pacific markets set for mixed open as investors digest outsized Fed rate cut

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Thursday, following a volatile session on Wall Street as traders assess the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by a half-percentage point.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 surged to fresh highs during intraday trading before reversing course to close lower.

New Zealand’s GDP for the second quarter contracted by 0.2% from the previous quarter, according to the official data released Thursday morning, less than Reuters poll estimates of a 0.4% decline.

Investors in Asia will also assess August trade data from Malaysia and unemployment numbers from Australia.

Bank of Japan is poised to kick off a two-day meeting ending Friday, where the central bankers will make a key rate decision, after the central bank ended its decades-long ultra-low interest rates regime earlier this year.

Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood at 8,111, lower than their record close of 8,142.1 in the previous session.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 36,695, 1.14% higher from its previous close of 36,380.17, and its counterpart in Osaka at 36,530.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures pointed to a flat open for HSI, hovering at its Tuesday close of 17,660. Hong Kong markets will return to trade after being closed for a public holiday on Wednesday.

Futures of mainland China’s CSI 300 stood at 3,191 slightly lower than its Tuesday close at 3,195.76.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.25% to 41,503.1, while the S&P 500 fell 0.29% to end at 5,618.26. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.31% to 17,573.3.

—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sarah Min contributed to this report.