Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks fell Wednesday.

ASX futures were up 0.24% or 21 points as of 8:30am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

Major US stock indexes closed down Wednesday with the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 0.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.2% to US$72.92 a barrel, while gold was up 0.1% to US$2,635.86.

The Australian dollar was at 64.96 US cents, up from its previous close of 64.72.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5% to 3,309.78, and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 2.1% to 1,996.71.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 2.3% to 1,996.71.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.8% to 38,134.97.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX increased 0.3% to 80,234.08.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.2% to 8,274.75.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX dropped 0.2% to 19,261.75, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.7% to 7,143.03.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA lost 0.3% to 44,722.06, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 5,998.74, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.6% to 19,060.48.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Texas Pacific Land Corp, surging 4.13%, Ulta Beauty Inc jumped 4.10%, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc lifted 3.78%.

The biggest decliners were Dell Technologies Inc which dropped 12.25%, HP Inc fell 11.36%, and Autodesk Inc lost 8.59%.