Australian sharemarket is set to open higher

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher on Monday after Wall Street's three major indexes notched up their third straight week of gains.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index rose 1.81 points, or 0.01%, on Friday, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.08% to 14,125.48. In the local market, ASX 200 futures rose 28 points or 0.4% higher, to 7104 as at 7.30am AEDT Monday.

The context: Energy, finishing up 2.1%, was the biggest percentage gainer among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors as oil prices settled up more than four per cent. Meanwhile, remarks from Federal Reserve officials clouded the outlook about when the US central bank might start cutting interest rates. In the local market, public appearances from senior Reserve Bank officials on Tuesday and Wednesday should shed some light on the future outlook for interest rates as the tightening cycle nears its end.