Australian shares set to track gains on Wall Street

The news: The Australian sharemarket is poised to open higher, after gains for tech shares and US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s positive comments on the US economy helped US stocks hit fresh highs.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 18 points or 0.21% at 8,503 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.62%, S&P 500 up 0.48%, Nasdaq up 1.15%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.28%, CAC 40 up 0.66%, DAX up 1.08%
• Spot gold: up 0.23% to USD2,649.55 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 1.33% to USD72.64/barrel, US WTI down 1.46% to USD68.92/bbl
• AUD: down 0.74% at 64.37 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 2.84% to USD98,740.45

The context: Powell said the US economy is in "remarkably good shape” and that could allow policymakers more caution in lowering interest rates. Meanwhile, Nvidia led gains by US tech-related stocks, as Salesforce and Marvell Technology both soared after their results boosted hopes both companies will keep benefiting from an industrywide boom in artificial intelligence.

What to Watch: TPG Telecom-spin off Tuas holds its annual general meeting; and the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases monthly household spending indicator for October.