South Korea GDP, Malaysia CPI, BOJ MPM meeting

Asia-Pacific markets are set to take a breather after two straight days of rallies, mirroring moves on Wall Street ahead of first-quarter gross domestic product figures from the U.S. due Thursday.

In Asia, investors will assess South Korea’s advance first-quarter GDP growth of 3.4% year on year, the highest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021.

Separately, the Bank of Japan kicks off its monetary policy meeting Thursday as investors monitor for action against yen weakness. The yen slid past the 155 mark against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, hitting a fresh 34-year low.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is set to fall, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,020 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,060 against the index’s last close of 38,460.08.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 17,185, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s close of 17,201.27.

Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for a public holiday

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes were largely range bound as interest rate fears dampened the enthusiasm stemming from a strong slate of corporate earnings.

Treasury yields rose, pressuring stocks. At session highs, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield topped 4.67%, while the rate on the 2-year note surpassed 4.95%

The S&P 500 eked out a 0.02% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%. The Nasdaq Composite edged 0.1% higher.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.