Australian shares to open up despite Wall Street jitters

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher even as Wall Street declined amid ongoing tariff jitters and a downbeat forecast from Walmart.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 20 points or 0.24% at 8,308 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.14%, S&P 500 down 0.52%, Nasdaq down 0.57%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.57%, CAC 40 up 0.15%, DAX down 0.53%
• Spot gold: up 0.12% to USD2,936.79 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 0.62% to USD76.51/ barrel, US WTI up 0.44% to USD72.57/bbl
• AUD: up 0.89% at 64.01 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 2.07% to USD98,643.71.

The context: A broad selloff pulled all three major US stock indices lower after sales and profit forecasts from Walmart, the world's largest retailer, fell short of analysts' expectations, suggesting dampening US consumer demand. Walmart shares slid 6.5%, while other large retailers Target and Costco fell around 2% each. The results provided an indication of how the company expects to fare under US President Donald Trump's growing list of tariff announcements, which was expanded overnight to include lumber, autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

What to watch: Parliamentary testimony by RBA Governor Michele Bullock and Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser at 9.30am; half-year results from QBE Insurance, MA Financial Group, Guzman Y Gomez, Jumbo Interactive and Superloop, among others.