Australian shares to open higher after Wall Street gains

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after fresh gains on Wall Street following US President Donald Trump’s call for cuts in interest rates and oil prices.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 25 points or 0.3% at 8,372 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.77%, S&P 500 up 0.22%, Nasdaq down 0.19%
• Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.23%, CAC 40 up 0.70%, DAX up 0.74%
• Spot gold: down 0.10% to USD2,753.73 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 1.10% to USD78.13/barrel, US WTI down 1.27% to USD74.48/bbl
• AUD: up 0.20% at 62.87 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 1.45% to USD105,181.30

The context: Trump demanded that OPEC lower oil prices and that central banks reduce interest rates in an address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, even as he warned global business leaders they will face tariffs for products made anywhere but in the US.

While the markets are optimistic about Trump’s policies, investors are concerned tariffs could add to inflation pressures and slow the Federal Reserve's pace of monetary policy easing. Traders expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged for the first half of 2025.