Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow industrials snapping a four-day winning streak.

ASX futures were higher 0.20% or 17 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

US stocks turned weaker, erasing some recent gains in the absence of any major new catalyst to keep driving share prices higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to snap a four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ticked up less than 0.1%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 2.0% to US$73.67 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,657.73.

The Australian dollar was at 68.22 US cents, up from its previous close of 68.21.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 2,896.31, and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.2% to 1,575.28.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% to 19,129.10.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.2% to 37,870.26.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX increased 0.3% to 85,169.87.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2% to 8,268.70.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX slipped 0.4% to 18,918.50, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.5% to 7,565.62.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA dropped 0.7% to 41,914.75, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 5,722.26, and the Nasdaq was flat at 18,082.21.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Vistra Corp, surging 5.94%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co jumped 5.14%, and Constellation Energy Corp lifted 3.70%.

The biggest decliners were Global Payments Inc which dropped 6.50%, Amgen Inc fell 5.46%, and General Motors Co lost 4.87%.