Australian shares to open flat; earnings, inflation in focus

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start marginally higher in line with a mixed result on Wall Street on Friday, with investors focused on company results and inflation data this week.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index rose 0.16%, the broader S&P 500 ended 0.03% higher while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 0.28%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were up just 4 points or 0.05% higher at 7605 points at 7:00am AEDT on Monday.

The context: Two of the three major US indices eked out another closing record high on Friday, as artificial intelligence stocks had enough steam to keep the rally chugging along. The performance of Nvidia and other Big Tech firms has pushed Fed worries into the background, as investors walk back expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, which otherwise could be a headwind for markets.

In the local market, the spotlight will be on January inflation data due on Wednesday, as well as company results with Suncorp, Coles and Woodside among those reporting this week.