Australian shares to open higher after Wall Street rebounds

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open slightly higher after a broad rebound on Wall Street on Friday amid positive inflation data.

The numbers: Updated at 8:35am AEDT

• ASX futures: up 13 points or 0.2% at 8,079.00 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.18%, S&P 500 up 1.09%, Nasdaq up 1.03%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.26%, CAC 40 down 0.27%, DAX down 0.43%
• Spot gold: up 1.11% to USD2,622.91 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 0.08% to USD72.94/barrel, US WTI up 0.12% to USD69.46/bbl
• AUD: up 0.02% at 62.52 US cents
• Bitcoin: down 1.57% to USD95,341.56

The context: Softer inflation data out of the US helped quell interest rate fears on Friday as the US government narrowly avoided a shutdown. US prices rose 0.1% in November, lower than the 0.2% forecast, helping alleviate fears rates would stay higher for longer. Over the weekend, Joe Biden signed a short-term funding bill providing an extension until March next year for further negotiations.

What to watch: Monday begins a quiet Christmas week for markets. All eyes will be on the RBA minutes tomorrow for an update on how the central bank is thinking about rates in 2025.