Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed in the red on Thursday following a break from trading on Juneteenth.

ASX futures were up 0.1% or 6 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

In the US, shares of Nvidia gave up early gains on Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down from all-time highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up nearly 300 points, or 0.8%, at 39,135. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% while the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.8%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.8% to US$85.71 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,359.16.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 4.01% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.20%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.74% and the 10 Year yield at 4.26%.

The Australian dollar was 66.55 US cents, up from its previous close of 66.54. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 100.23.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower after the PBOC kept the country's benchmark lending rates steady. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.4% lower at 3,005.44, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 1.9% and the ChiNext Price Index dropped 1.4%. Property shares led losses, as sentiment continued to be weak after home prices declined at a faster pace in May in major cities despite recent stimulus measures. Poly Developments & Holdings Group dropped 2.6% and China Vanke was 3.5% lower. Software stocks weighed on the market as well, with iFlytek down 2.2% and Shanghai Baosight Software off 1.6%. Meanwhile, energy stocks broadly advanced, with PetroChina up 1.7%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5% to close at 18,335.32 after China's benchmark lending rates were kept unchanged earlier today. Investors continue to await policy support measures to boost China's recovery. Healthcare and consumer sectors led losses on the benchmark index. Haidilao International dropped 5.9%, Sino Biopharmaceutical slipped 5.3% and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group shed 4.3%. Meanwhile, Cnooc was 3.5% higher, PetroChina added 2.4% and China Hongqiao Group rose 1.3%. The Hang Seng Tech Index was 1.7% lower at 3,767.88.

The Nikkei Stock Average rises 0.2% to 38,633.02 as gains in electronics stocks help offset losses in brokerage and real-estate shares. Advantest gains 3.7% and Murata Manufacturing climbs 1.7% while Mitsubishi Estate drops 1.7% and Nomura Holdings sheds 0.9%. Broader index Topix falls 0.1% to 2,725.54. Investors are focusing on Swiss and U.K. central banks' rate decisions later in the day. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rises 2 basis points to 0.950%.

India's Sensex closed 0.2% higher at 77,478.93, led by banks, after an overall subdued trading session. Investors are likely awaiting U.S. economic data due later today, including weekly jobless claims, for more signals on the direction of the U.S. economy and Fed rate cuts. Among advancers, ICICI Bank rose 1.05%, Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 1.0% and Axis Bank was 0.95% higher. Among decliners, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 2.2%, Mahindra and Mahindra lost 2.1% and NTPC was 1.3% lower.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. ended higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 Index rising 0.8% to 8,272.46.

In Europe, shares closed higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index up 0.9% to 518.91, Germany's DAX adding 1.0% to 18,254.18 and France's CAC 40 lifted 1.3% to 7,671.34.

North America

Shares of Nvidia gave up early gains on Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down from all-time highs.

The S&P 500 finished 0.3% lower, after earlier surpassing 5,500 in intraday trading for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.8%, snapping a seven-session streak of record closes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, rising about 300 points, or 0.8%.

Stocks have climbed in recent weeks, driven in large part by excitement around artificial intelligence. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at new records ahead of Wednesday's Juneteenth holiday. Nvidia, whose chips power AI technology, also on Tuesday dethroned Microsoft as the most valuable public company in the world, with a market capitalization of more than $3 trillion.

Shares of Nvidia couldn't keep the rally going on Thursday, falling 3.5%. That pressured the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which are weighted by market value, meaning big companies such as Nvidia have an outsize influence over the direction of the indexes.

"Nothing can go up forever," said Sandi Bragar, chief client officer at Aspiriant, who is encouraging her clients to balance positions in large-cap stocks with more staid investments such as bonds.

The moves came after data on housing and the labor market released Thursday suggested the economy is slowing. Housing starts and building permits fell from a month ago, according to Commerce Department data. Weekly jobless claims came in at 238,000, higher than economists expected.

Investors have been highly attuned to economic data for signs that inflation is easing, which could keep the Federal Reserve on track this year to cut interest rates, usually a boon to the stock market.

"We're getting that slow cooling of inflation," said Leslie Thompson, chief investment officer of Spectrum Wealth Management.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a benchmark for borrowing costs, rose to 4.252%, from 4.216% on Tuesday.

In individual stocks, Darden Restaurants shares rose 1.5% after the Olive Garden parent reported sales growth in line with analysts' expectations for its latest quarter.

Shares of Gilead Sciences gained 8.5% after the company said one of its investigational drugs had for the first time shown 100% effectiveness in preventing HIV in a study.

Accenture's stock climbed 7.3% after the company reported a fall in quarterly net income, but a jump in new bookings, including more than $900 million tied to generative AI.

Salesforce's 4.3% jump contributed about 65 points to the Dow industrial's gains.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group fell 15% after the Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective the registration of additional shares, leaving the stock vulnerable to dilution.

Kroger's stock declined 3.3% after the grocery-store operator reported better-than-expected adjusted profit and sales, but slightly weaker gross margins.