Australia Retail Sales Data Due On Friday

(RTTNews) - Australia will on Friday release August numbers for retail sales, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Sales are tipped to fall 4.2 percent on month after rising 3.2 percent in July.

Japan will see August figures for unemployment and September data for consumer confidence. The jobless rate is expected to rise to 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent in July, with the job-to-applicant ratio slipping to 1.05 from 1.08. The consumer confidence index score in August was 29.3.

Finally, the markets in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong remain closed on Thursday and Friday for the Mid-Autumn Festival; Taiwan and Hong Kong return to action on Monday, while China is off until next Thursday. South Korea is also off until Monday for the Chuseok Festival.