Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks slipped from record levels and Treasury yields were mostly higher after September inflation slowed a little less than expected, while layoffs seemed to be picking up.

ASX futures were up 0.52% or 43 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks declined after a hotter-than-expected inflation report sparked questions about the Fed's next move.

The consumer-price index showed prices rose 2.4% in the 12 months through September, running slightly hotter than expectations for a 2.3% rise. Annual core inflation also marginally overshot forecasts, with prices excluding volatile food and energy up 3.3%. A separate report showed a modest but unexpected uptick in weekly jobless claims.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, and the Dow industrials declined 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped less than 0.1%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 3.3% to US$79.09 a barrel, while gold was unchanged at US$2,629.78.

The Australian dollar was at 67.39 US cents, up from its previous close of 67.16.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3% to 3,301.93, and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 0.3% to 1,910.27.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 3.0% to 21,251.98.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.3% to 39,380.89.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX increased 0.2% to 81,611.41.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 0.1% to 8,237.73.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.2% to 19,210.90, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 7,541.59.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.1% to 42,454.12, the S&P 500 lost 0.2% to 5,780.05, and the Nasdaq declined 0.1% to 18,282.05.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were CrowdStrike Holdings Inc, surging 5.56%, The Mosaic Co jumped 4.43%, and Micron Technology Inc lifted 3.92%.

The biggest decliners were First Solar Inc which dropped 9.29%, Enphase Energy Inc fell 5.82%, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc lost 4.00%.