Australian shares to start ahead after mixed Wall St session

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after easing bond yields and a drop in oil prices helped two of the three major indices on Wall Street end higher.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index dropped 0.12%, but the broader S&P 500 gained 0.22% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.74% after the latest economic data showed US private payrolls increased less than expected in September. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading 31 points or 0.45% higher at 6943 points at 0700 AEDT on Thursday.

The context: The payrolls report helped to ease longer-dated US Treasury yields off 16-year highs. However, Friday's jobs report for September is the week's key economic news and concerns about rising interest rates and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates higher for longer remain a focus for stock investors. Locally, investors will be keeping an eye on trade balance data for August, due at 11.30 am.