Australian shares to start lower amid mixed Wall Street, earnings

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower following a mixed session on Wall Street and ahead of a barrage of local corporate earnings.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 37 points or 0.44% at 8,349 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.06%, S&P 500 up 0.21%, Nasdaq up 0.20%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.62%, CAC 40 down 1.17%, DAX down 1.80%
• Spot gold: down 0.05% to USD2,934.41 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 0.33% to USD76.09/ barrel, US WTI up 0.64% to USD72.31/bbl
• AUD: down 0.11% at 63.46 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 0.79% to USD96,315.45.

The context: US stocks were mixed in choppy trading as investors focused on the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting as well as the latest tariff announcements from US President Donald Trump. The minutes showed policymakers remain concerned about stubborn US inflation and the potential effect of Trump's tariff policy proposals on their efforts to bring down price growth to target. Earlier, Trump announced he would impose tariffs of around 25% on autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, the latest in a series of measures that have raised concerns over the consequences of a global trade war.

What to watch: January jobs data at 11.30am; half-year results from Block, Fortescue Metals, Telstra, Transurban, Wesfarmers, Tabcorp and Megaport, among others.