Australian stocks set for cautious start to week

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set for a quiet start to the week, after major US indices edged higher but investors stayed cautious ahead of key US data this week.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.22% higher on Friday amid narrow trading, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.09%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading just 4 points or 0.06% higher at 7154 points at 0700 AEST on Monday.

The context: Investors worried about interest rates are waiting anxiously for upcoming US inflation readings to seek signals about the Federal Reserve's likely moves. This includes the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August, due on Wednesday. In the local market, investors will be watching our own jobs data for August due to be released Thursday.