Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after Wall Street responded positively to inflation news.

ASX futures were up 0.6% or 50 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks indexes set fresh all-time highs after core inflation posts its lowest increase since April 2021 offering hope for Fed rate cuts later this year.

DJIA climbed 349 points, or 0.9%, to 39908, the S&P 500 gained 1.2% to 5308 and the Nasdaq added 1.4% to 16742.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.6% to US$82.91 a barrel, while gold was up 0.1% at US$2,388.84.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was unchanged at 4.01% while the 10 Year yield was down at 4.31%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.72% and the 10 Year yield at 4.34%.

The Australian dollar was 66.90 US cents, down from its previous close of 66.91. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 98.95.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower, dragged by brokerages and semiconductor stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.8% lower at 3119.90, the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.8% and the ChiNext Price Index lost 0.9%. Zheshang Securities and Founder Securities slid 10% and 7.9%, respectively. Cinda Securities fell 5.9% and China Galaxy Securities was 4.6% lower. Among individual movers, Guolian Securities jumped 10% higher after saying overnight that it will buy a stake in smaller peer Minsheng Securities. Meanwhile, Gaga Device Semiconductor and SMIC declined 3.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Property stocks advanced following news reports that the Chinese government is considering buying up unsold housing inventories. China Vanke added 3.6% and Poly Developments & Holdings rose 3.0%.

Hong Kong markets were closed for the Birthday of the Buddha public holiday.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged 0.1% higher to close at 38385.73, led by the precision-instruments sector. The main theme has been resilience in risk assets, Commerzbank Research analysts say in a research report. Within the precision-instruments sector, Hoya Corp. climbed 6.9%, Terumo Corp. added 1.7%, and Nagano Keiki was up 3.6%. Sony Group jumped 8.2% after CNBC reported that the company is rethinking its bid for Paramount Global and after its 4Q net profit beat analysts' estimates. USD/JPY was at 156.27, compared with 156.42 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock-market close. JGB 10-year yield was down 1 bps at 0.950%.

Indian shares edged lower as investors waited for key U.S. CPI data due later in the day for clues on thetimeline for the Fed's rate cuts. Gains in power stocks offset the weakness in tech stocks. Power Grid Corp. of India rose 1.6% and NTPC gained 1.55%. Tata Consultancy Services dropped 0.55% and ITC shed 0.4%. Asian Paints was the worst performer, ending 1.8% lower. The benchmark Sensex edged 0.2% lower to close at 72987.03.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Wednesday, as the FTSE 100 Index added 0.2% to 8445.80.

Among large companies, Keller Group PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 21% to GBP1,376.00, and International Distribution Services PLC surged 16% to GBP314.80. Britvic PLC rounded out the top three movers on Wednesday, as shares surged 11% to GBP1,018.00.

John Wood Group PLC posted the largest decline, dropping 7.5% to GBP185.60, followed by shares of Burberry Group PLC, which dropped 7.3% to GBP1,102.00. Shares of Trainline PLC fell 4.9% to GBP325.60.

In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 Index added 0.6% to 524.71, Germany's DAX rose 0.8% to 18,869.36 and France's CAC 40 rose 0.2% to 8,239.99.

North America

U.S. stocks indexes set fresh all-time highs after core inflation posts its lowest increase since April 2021 offering hope for Fed rate cuts later this year.

DJIA climbed 349 points, or 0.9%, to 39908, the S&P 500 gained 1.2% to 5308 and the Nasdaq added 1.4% to 16742.

Technology was again the top performing sector, while real estate got a lift on expectations that mortgage rates could finally ease some.

The dollar weakened along with Treasury yields, helping boost oil and gold prices.

Shares of GameStop and AMC Entertainment came under some pressure as traders booked profits in the meme stock darlings following a two-day rally.