Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, while US stock indexes ended mixed but on path to end the month with gains.

ASX futures were up 0.63% or 51 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

The US stock market escaped disappointing Nvidia results largely unscathed.

The Nvidia-less Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, or 244 points, notching its 25th record of the year. The S&P 500 finished roughly flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell just 0.2%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.6% to US$79.94 a barrel, while gold was up 0.6% to US$2,521.19.

The Australian dollar was at 67.95 US cents, up from its previous close of 67.83.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% to 2,823.11, and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.1% to 1,510.42.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.5% to 17,786.32.

Japanese shares closed flat. The Nikkei Stock Average was 38,362.53.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.4% to 82,134.61.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.4% to 8,379.64.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX gained 0.7% to 18,912.57, and France's CAC 40 increased 0.7% to 7,640.95.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA added 0.6% to 41,335.05, the S&P 500 was unchanged at 5,591.96, and the Nasdaq fell 0.2% to 17,516.43.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Best Buy Co Inc, surging 14.11%, The Cooper Companies Inc jumped 11.84%, and West Pharmaceutical Services Inc lifted 5.83%.

The biggest decliners were Dollar General Corp which dropped 32.15%, Dollar Tree Inc fell 10.26%, and NetApp Inc lost 9.64%.