Nikkei hits record high, investors await Fed chair's testimony
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Japan's Nikkei hit a record high on Tuesday, while investors elsewhere waited anxiously to see if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would sound supportive of rate cuts after evidence the U.S. labour market is cooling.

Europe is set for a lower open, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures off 0.3% and FTSE flat. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq futures firmed 0.3%, after Wall Street equities inched higher to close at record highs on Monday.

The Nikkei index jumped 1.5% to a fresh record high thanks to gains in semiconductor shares, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last flat, having hit a two-year top a day earlier.

Taiwanese shares also hit a record high before running into profit-taking and were last down 0.3%. Chinese blue chips edged 0.1% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.3%. 

 Japan's Nikkei index has reached a record high on Tuesday, while investors around the world eagerly await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony. The market is particularly interested in whether Powell will indicate support for rate cuts, given recent evidence of a cooling U.S. labor market 
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 Japan’s Nikkei hit a record high on Tuesday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on potential rate cuts amid a cooling U.S. labor market.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.3%, FTSE was flat, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose 0.2% and 0.3% respectively after Wall Street’s record highs on Monday.

The Nikkei surged 1.5% due to semiconductor gains, while the broader Asia-Pacific index was flat after reaching a two-year high. Taiwanese shares hit a record before droppin