Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, following modest gains on Wall Street.

ASX futures were up 0.3% or 26 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose for a third straight session as investors looked ahead to a key inflation report.

The broad index edged up by less than 0.1%, while the tech-heavy index gained 0.3%, with both hanging not far off their record highs reached earlier this month. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 0.1%, or 36 points.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.3% to US$86.39 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,326.70.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 4.26% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.41%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.71% and the 10 Year yield at 4.29%.

The Australian dollar was 66.46 US cents, up from its previous close of 66.44.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower, weighed by retail and auto stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.9% at 2,945.85, the Shenzhen Composite Index was 1.7% lower, while the ChiNext Price Index declined 1.6%. Investors are looking for new catalysts for the Chinese stock market, including key Communist Party political meetings in July. Among major stocks, Yonghui Superstores was down 5.3% and BYD was 1.3% lower. Gainers included China Telecom and China Mobile, which added 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively.

Hong Kong shares closed lower, dragged by tech and consumer stocks. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 2.1% to 17,716.47 and the Hang Seng Tech Index was down 2.7%. Xiaomi and Nongfu Spring led losses, down 7.2% and 7.4%, respectively. Beijing's latest property-sector easing didn't boost the sector. Longfor Group fell 3.9%, while Yuexiu Property and CIFI Holdings closed 4.8% and 5.7% lower, respectively. Among the few gainers, China Mobile rose 0.6% and China Unicom advanced 1.3%. Investors are looking to China's Third Plenum meeting, scheduled for July 15-18, for more specific property stimulus measures and other economic development plans.

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in brokerage and pharmaceutical stocks, as concerns persist about the Bank of Japan's potential rate increases and higher borrowing costs. Nomura Holdings dropped 2.6% and Daiichi Sankyo lost 2.6%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.8% to 39341.54. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield was up 5 basis points to 1.070%. Investors are focusing on economic data and any warnings by Japanese officials against the yen's sharp depreciation.

Indian shares continued its upward momentum to end higher for a fourth straight session. The benchmark Sensex rose 0.7% to close at 79,243.18, crossing the 79,000 level for the first time. Power and tech stocks led the gains. NTPC climbed 3.2% and Power Grid Corp. of India was 1.4% higher. Infosys added 2.1% and Tata Consultancy Services advanced 2.0%. UltraTech Cement rose 5.1% after its plan to acquire a 23% stake in India Cements. Larsen & Toubro dropped 1.1%.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. slipped Thursday, as the FTSE 100 Index fell 0.6% to 8179.68.

Among large companies, Next 15 Group PLC posted the largest decline, dropping 11%, followed by shares of Currys PLC, which dropped 5.8%. Shares of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC dropped 5.8%.

DS Smith PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 16%, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC surged 8.9%. Watches of Switzerland Group PLC rounded out the top three movers on Thursday, as shares surged 6.0%.

In Europe, shares closed mixed, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index down 0.4% to 512.59, Germany's DAX rose 0.3% to 18,210.55 and France's CAC 40 fell 1.0% to 7,530.72.

North America

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose for a third straight session Thursday as investors looked ahead to a key inflation report.

The broad index edged up by less than 0.1%, while the tech-heavy index gained 0.3%, with both hanging not far off their record highs reached earlier this month. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 0.1%, or 36 points.

The moves continued a stretch of calm for the stock market, with indexes swinging between modest gains and losses for much of the day. Some investors don't expect the muted swings to last.

"History shows that markets don't stay this calm for long periods of time," said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial.

Buchbinder said volatility is expected to pick up around November's rematch between President Biden and Donald Trump, who were set to meet Thursday in their first debate since the 2020 presidential race.

In the meantime, Buchbinder is advising his clients to allocate to sectors that could benefit from investors' ongoing excitement about artificial intelligence, including companies that have been building out AI initiatives.

Investors will get fresh insight into the U.S. economy Friday with the release of the personal-consumption expenditures price index. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge is expected to rise 2.6% in May from a year earlier. That would be down from the 2.7% increase in April.

On Thursday, the S&P 500's communication services sector was among the index's best performers. Consumer discretionary also gained, with Amazon.com shares adding 2.2%, a day after the online retailer became the fifth U.S. company to cross a $2 trillion market cap.

Walgreens Boots Alliance tumbled 22% after it reported unexpectedly weak results, cut its outlook and outlined a strategic shift. The struggling pharmacy chain was the worst performer in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Shares of Micron Technology fell 7.1%. The chip maker gave quarterly sales guidance that disappointed investors who had hoped for a bigger benefit from the AI boom.

Traders also sorted through a mixed batch of data Thursday.

The U.S. economy grew 1.4% in the first three months of the year, according to the government's latest estimate of first-quarter annual growth. That was the slowest quarterly growth since the spring of 2022.

Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices continued to scare off potential buyers, with pending home sales dropping 2.1% in May to a record low, according to the monthly index released by the National Association of Realtors.

New orders for durable goods such as appliances, computers and cars edged up slightly in May, beating consensus forecasts for a decline.

"The U.S. economy continues to normalize after big gyrations during the pandemic and immediately after it," said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. "It's a more stable and predictable macroeconomic environment, and it's good for business."

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note slipped to 4.287%, down from 4.315% on Wednesday. Yields fall as prices rise.