Australian shares set to rise; US yields weigh on Wall Street

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher despite two of the three main US stock indices declining after a rise in US Treasury yields, as investors scale back expectations on rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 22 points or 0.27% at 8,193 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.71%, S&P 500 down 0.08%, Nasdaq down 0.70%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.29%, CAC 40 down 0.30%, DAX down 0.41%
• Spot gold: down 1.12% to USD2,659.60 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 1.58% to USD81.02/barrel, US WTI up 2.98% to USD78.85/bbl
• AUD: up 0.12% at 61.56 US cents
• Bitcoin: down 2.38% to USD92,267.96

The context: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell as the benchmark 10-year note yield touched a 14-month high of 4.805%. Recent economic data has indicated a resilient US economy while promised tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump have also fuelled worries about inflation. Markets are now pricing in a 52.9% chance for a rate cut in June.

Meanwhile, energy was the best performing sector as crude prices continued to climb on expectations that wider US sanctions on Russian oil would force buyers in India and China to other suppliers.