Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after a strong session on Wall Street.

ASX futures were up 0.93% or 73 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks posted strong gains and Treasury yields were little changed as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his congressional testimony from Tuesday, seen as warming to interest-rate cuts. The dollar slipped and gold gained. Oil futures rallied as U.S. crude inventories fell.

The S&P 500 rose 1% to end at its 37th record close of the year. The Dow industrials added 1.1%, or about 429 points. It is off 0.7% from its record on May 17. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%, notching its 27th record close in 2024.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.9% to US$85.39 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,371.49.

The Australian dollar was 67.46 US cents, down from its previous close of 67.47.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower amid subdued investor sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7% to 2,939.36, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.35% and the ChiNext Price Index was off 0.1%. China's June consumer inflation stayed tepid while factory-gate prices continued to fall, pointing to persistently lackluster demand despite Beijing's efforts to juice up consumption. Energy and property stocks led losses. SinoPec Corp. was 1.8% lower and Yankuang Energy Group shed 6.8%. China Vanke declined 1.5% after it guided for 1H core loss of CNY5.0 billion-CNY6.5 billion, and Poly Developments & Holdings Group dropped 0.5%.

Hong Kong shares ended lower, weighed by energy stocks. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 0.3% to 17,471.67 and the Hang Seng Tech Index closed flat. PetroChina fell 2.9% and Cnooc was 3.5% lower. China Shenhua Energy dropped 4.95% after it guided for 1H profit to drop on year. Tech stocks ended mixed, with Baidu surging 10% as investors cheered the potential of its auto-driving business, as Chinese regulators have signaled they would allow for more robotaxi applications on Chinese roads. Xiaomi declined 1.7%.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% to 41,831.99, a new record high. Financial stocks led gains, due partly to expectations for the Bank of Japan's potential rate increases. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings climbed 2.2% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings gained 1.8%. Among individual movers, Recruit Holdings advanced 3.6% following its plan to buy back up to Y600 billion of its own shares. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 1.5 basis points to 1.085%. Investors are focusing on economic data and their policy implications.

India's Sensex closed 0.5% lower at 79,924.77 on profit-taking and market uncertainties regarding Fed rate cuts, said Suman Bannerjee, CIO at investment firm Hedonova. Investors are also cautious ahead of 1Q company results, and rising domestic inflation has dampened sentiment, Bannerjee added. Among decliners, Mahindra & Mahindra fell 6.6%, Tata Steel lost 2.2% and State Bank of India was 1.4% lower. Among advancers, Asian Paints gained 3.1%, Power Grid Corp. of India rose 1.5% and NTPC was 1.2% higher.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Wednesday, as the FTSE 100 Index added 0.7% to 81,93.51.

Among large companies, SSP Group PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 10%, and Travis Perkins PLC surged 7.1%. John Wood Group PLC rounded out the top three movers on Wednesday, as shares surged 6.6%.

Craneware PLC posted the largest decline, falling 4.2%, followed by shares of Old Mutual Ltd., which fell 2.0%. Shares of Sage Group PLC fell 2.0%.

In other parts of Europe markets closed higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index up 0.9% at 516.42, Germany's DAX added 0.9% to 18,407.22 and France's CAC 40 gaining 0.9% to 7,573.55.

North America

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite cruised to fresh records Wednesday, with investors appearing more confident that interest-rate cuts are on their way.

The broad index logged its sixth straight record close -- its longest such streak since 2021 -- with all 11 of its sectors advancing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite notched its seventh record in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also turned higher, snapping a two-day losing streak.

Major indexes rose as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke to a House committee, after his first day of congressional testimony on Tuesday inched the Fed closer to lowering interest rates. In his testimony this week, Powell pointed to a cooling labor market and suggested that further softening might be unwelcome.

Investors seemed pleased with the signs that lower rates might finally be near at hand. They had entered 2024 thinking the Fed might lower rates some half-dozen times, but were forced to reconsider as inflation remained stubbornly persistent early in the year.

"He's being consistent with his message that the Fed needs to continue to gain confidence that inflation is trending lower," said Tracy Bell, chief investment officer of First Horizon Advisors. "But he's being a little bit on the dovish side in suggesting that they are gaining that confidence, although they're still remaining very patient."

Traders and analysts will get more clues on the outlook for rates Thursday, when the consumer-price index for June offers the next big look at inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 1% to end at its 37th record close of the year. The Dow industrials added 1.1%, or about 429 points. It is off 0.7% from its record on May 17. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%, notching its 27th record close in 2024.

"The market is expressing confidence that the Fed can achieve this soft landing and bring inflation down closer to their 2% target without incurring a recession," said Hank Smith, head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust. "I think that is a big part of what is driving the market this year."

Among individual stocks, it was another big day for some of the market's biggest drivers this year. Shares of chip maker Nvidia added 2.7%, while Apple shares rose 1.9% and Microsoft shares gained 1.5%.

Tesla continued its turnaround after a lengthy spell as a stock-market laggard. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker climbed 0.4% in an 11th consecutive session higher, heading further into positive territory for the year.

Earlier this month, investors learned that Tesla's vehicle sales had fallen for a second straight quarter, but not as much as expected. That might not sound like cause for a furious rally, but investors were already beginning to reconsider the stock.

On June 24, right before the 11-day climb, Tesla had closed down 27% year-to-date. The shares then logged five sessions higher before the better-than-anticipated results powered them up 10% in a single day. Tesla is now up 5.9% in 2024.

In bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.280%, from 4.297% on Tuesday.