Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks ended higher, with the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 closing at record levels, boosted by semiconductor shares.

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

U.S. stocks posted their biggest monthly gains this year in November, as chip stocks rallied in a shortened Black Friday.

The Nasdaq Composite led gains, advancing 0.8%. The S&P 500 ended 0.6% higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 1.3% to US$71.84 a barrel, while gold was up 0.2% to US$2,643.15.

The Australian dollar was at 65.10 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9% to 3,326.46, and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.7% to 2,016.94.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.3% to 19,423.61.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.4% to 38,208.03.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX increased 1.0% to 79,802.79.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.1% to 8,287.30.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX added 1.0% to 19,626.45, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.8% to 7,235.11.

North America

US stocks ended higher. The DJIA increased 0.4% to 44,910.65, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 6,032.38, and the Nasdaq added 0.8% to 19,218.17.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Ralph Lauren Corp, surging 3.92%, Tesla Inc jumped 3.69%, and First Solar Inc lifted 3.48%.

The biggest decliners were Super Micro Computer Inc which dropped 6.93%, VeriSign Inc fell 2.32%, and Texas Pacific Land Corp lost 2.24%.