Australian shares to start higher after Wall Street gains
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start higher, tracking gains on Wall Street where the latest economic data soothed concerns about the state of the US labour market.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 1.76% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 2.30% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 2.87%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were up 81 points or 1.06% at 7,722 points at 7am AEST on Friday.
The context: US stocks jumped after jobless claims fell more than expected in the latest week, soothing worries the labour market was weakening too quickly. Data showed the number of new applications last week for unemployment benefits fell more than expected to 233,000.
Stocks had sold off sharply after last week's July US jobs report sparked fears of a potential US recession. Traders also cited an unwinding of positions of carry trades, where investors borrow money from economies with low interest rates to fund their bets in high-yielding assets elsewhere.
Meanwhile, investors are watching final results closely after some disappointments earlier in the second-quarter earnings season.
In the local market, traders will also be watching earnings reports from QBE, Newscorp, REA Group.
The source: Reuters
