Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US benchmarks rose.

ASX futures were up 0.3% or 23 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

US stocks rose on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its winning streak to seven consecutive trading days.

The Dow rose 334 points, or 0.85%. The broader S&P 500 joined in, gaining 0.51%, as did the Nasdaq, which added 0.27%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.6% to US$84.10 a barrel, while gold was up 1.6% at US$2,346.33.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 4.04% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.34%. US Treasury notes were mixed, with the 2 Year yield down at 4.82% and the 10 Year yield down at 4.45%.

The Australian dollar was 66.17 US cents, down from its previous close of 66.19. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 99.69.

Asia

Chinese shares ended higher, helped by gains among property and semiconductor stocks. China's exports swung to growth in April after a short-lived drop in March, trade data showed. While that could cheer investors, optimism will be tempered doubts about other areas of China's economy. Sentiment toward property stocks was aided by news that another major Chinese city is easing home-buying curbs, the latest in efforts to prop up the real-estate market. Among major stocks, SMIC rose 3.7% and Poly Developments added 2.6%. Decliners included China Mobile and China Telecom, which dropped 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.8% at 3154.32, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.3% and the ChiNext Price Index gained 1.9%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.2% higher at 18537.81, led by property and semiconductor stocks. Sentiment was likely boosted by China's exports, which swung back to growth in April after a short-lived drop in March. Lenovo Group jumped 8.7% and SMIC climbed 4.7%. The Hang Seng Properties Index and the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index gained 1.4% and 2.0%, respectively, after another major Chinese city scrapped home-buying requirements. Orient Overseas (International) rose 6.1%, Country Garden Services increased 4.4% and Longfor Group was 3.65% higher. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 1.95%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3% to close at 38073.98, reversing earlier gains. The index was weighed down by losses among semiconductor- and electronics-related names. Arm Holdings' results overnight seem to have sent shivers through chip stocks, Charu Chanana, head of FX strategy at Saxo Markets, says in a commentary. These shivers, along with the BOJ's tightening hints, could have capped gains, Chanana adds. Rohm dropped over 10%, Trend Micro shed 4.1%, and Tokyo Electron lost 2.9%. The JGB 10-year yield was up 3 bps at 0.905%.

Indian shares closed lower, dragged by industrial and finance stocks, amid caution as the earnings season got under way. Larsen & Toubro led losses, dropping 5.6%, and JSW Steel was 3.6% lower. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv shed 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, Tata Motors led gains, rising 1.9%, and Mahindra & Mahindra was 1.5% higher. Among individual gainers, SKF India advanced 8.0% after its 4Q net profit jumped 43% on year. State Bank of India added 1.1% after its net profit rose 18% in the latest quarter. The benchmark Sensex fell 1.45% to 72404.17.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Thursday, as the FTSE 100 Index gained 0.3% to 8381.35.

Among large companies, Harbour Energy PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 7.7% to GBP301.10, and Hays PLC surged 4.1% to GBP97.90. Genuit Group PLC rounded out the top three movers on Thursday, as shares gained 3.2% to GBP455.50.

3i Group PLC posted the largest decline, dropping 5.2% to GBP2,820.00, followed by shares of Baltic Classifieds Group PLC, which fell 4.3% to GBP236.50. Shares of Paragon Banking Group PLC fell 3.2% to GBP715.00.

European shares ended Thursday higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index rising 0.2% to finish at 516.77, the CAC 40 gained 0.7% to 8,187.65 and the DAX 40 adding 1.0% to 18,686.60.

North America

US stocks rose on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its winning streak to seven consecutive trading days.

The Dow rose 334 points, or 0.85%. The broader S&P 500 joined in, gaining 0.51%, as did the Nasdaq, which added 0.27%.

With the week nearing its close, so is first-quarter earnings season. Most S&P 500 components have now reported, and by and large results have been goodas has been companies guidance for the current quarter.

Worries about the Federal Reserve have been momentarily placed on the back burner. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims picked up last week, which could indicate there is some cooling in the job market. That said, claims figures can be volatile, and economists pointed out that much of the weeks increase was driven by a rebound in claims filed in New York.

Further easing rate worries, the governments sale of $25 billion worth of 30-year Treasurys went well. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note fell 0.034 percentage point to 4.448%. It has now fallen in 8 of the past 10 trading days.