Asia-Pacific markets set for higher open; China inflation data in focus

Asia-Pacific markets were set to trade higher Friday as investors keep an eye on China's inflation data coming out later in the day.

China's consumer price inflation for December is expected to come in at 0.8% year on year, according to economists polled by Reuters, compared to 0.7% in November.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was set for a higher open, with its futures contract in Chicago trading at 51,700, and its counterpart in Osaka at 51,190, against the index's last close of 51,117.26.

Australia's ASX/S&P 200 ticked slightly below the flatline.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract trading at 26,312, against the index's previous close of 26,149.31.

U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours ahead of a key December jobs report and a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. The Supreme Court could issue a ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's tariffs, which could have an impact on trade policy and the nation's fiscal situation.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose while the Nasdaq Composite came under pressure as investors moved away from technology stocks.

The 30-stock Dow climbed 270.03 points, or 0.55%, and ended at 49,266.11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.44% and settled at 23,480.02. The S&P 500 advanced 0.01% and closed at 6,921.46. Among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, information technology was the laggard, falling more than 1%.

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