Australian shares to open higher after trade talk hopes buoy Wall Street
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday on hopes of potential easing of trade tensions between the US and China.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 32 points or 0.39% at 8,280 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.39%, S&P 500 up 1.47%, Nasdaq up 1.51%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 1.17%, CAC 40 up 2.33%, DAX up 2.62%
- Spot gold: up 0.04% at USD3,240.49 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.35% to USD61.29/bbl, US WTI down 1.60% to USD58.29/bbl
- AUD: up 0.05% at 64.57 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.16% to USD95,816.88.
The context: All three major US stock indices advanced on Friday after Beijing said it was evaluating an offer from Washington to hold talks over US President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs on Chinese imports. The tit-for-tat tariffs between the world's two largest economies have kept investors on edge so far. Sentiment was also boosted by strong economic data that showed the US economy added a higher-than-expected 177,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, helping assuage concerns of an economic slowdown. In the local market, investors will be focused on half-year earnings from the major banks this week.
What to watch: Westpac half-year results
