Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks rose on positive signs from the Fed.

ASX futures were up 0.35% or 28 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

Stocks edged higher after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting reinforced expectations that the central bank would likely cut interest rates in September.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, a day after snapping an eight-session winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 1.4% to US$76.14 a barrel, while gold was down 0.1% at US$2,512.56.

The Australian dollar was at 67.40 US cents, down from its previous close of 67.46.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 2,856.58, and the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.3% to 1,521.41.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7% to 17,391.01.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3% to 37,951.80.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.1% to 80,905.30.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.1% to 8,283.43.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX added 0.5% to 18,448.95, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.5% to 7,524.72.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA rose 0.1% to 40,890.49, the S&P 500 added 0.4% to 5,620.85, and the Nasdaq gained 0.6% to 17,918.99.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Keysight Technologies Inc, surging 13.88%, Target Corp jumped 11.20%, and TJX Companies Inc lifted 6.11%.

The biggest decliners were Franklin Resources Inc which dropped 12.56%, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc fell 3.17%, and American Express Co lost 2.68%.