Bank of Korea rate decision, Kospi, Nikkei, HSI

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s decline on concerns over US-China trade relations.

Trade fears resurfaced after Reuters Reported on Wednesday The Trump administration is considering curbing exports to China, including US software, according to a US official and three people familiar with the matter.

Sources said the plan, which covers a range of items from laptops to jet engines, may not go ahead, and is not the only option being discussed.

Investors in Asia will also look to the Bank of Korea’s policy rate decision later in the day. The country’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, according to economists polled by Reuters, as policymakers continue to flag household debt as a key risk.

Japan’s benchmark Nikki 225 The index was set for a lower open, with its futures contract trading at 48,910 in Chicago and 48,830 in Osaka, versus the index’s Wednesday close of 49,307.79.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 fell 0.33%.

The future of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The index pointed to a lower open, trading at 25,647 compared to the index’s previous close of 25,781.77.

U.S. equity futures were lower in early Asia after three major U.S. benchmarks fell stateside on Wednesday. Including disappointing corporate earnings from companies Texas Instruments And Netflix Also weighted on the main average.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average It closed down 334.33 points, or 0.71%, at 46,590.41. The S&P 500 Ended 0.53% lower at 6,699.40, while Nasdaq Composite It fell 0.93% to settle at 22,740.40.

At session lows, the Dow was down more than 400 points, or about 1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq shed 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.