Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US benchmarks rose led by tech stocks.

ASX futures were up 0.11% or 10 points as of 8:30am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

Major US stock averages rose to fresh records driven by gains in information technology and consumer discretionary sectors.

Energy prices fell with oil prices as traders await an OPEC+ decision Thursday on output levels.

Shares of Salesforce, Okta, Marvell Technology and Pure Storage rose after each reported results that were ahead of expectations.

Fed Chair Powell says the Fed can take a more cautious approach to reducing borrowing costs.

DJIA rose 308 points, or 0.7%, to 45,014, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 6,086 and the Nasdaq climbed 1.3% to 19,735.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 1.7% to US$72.40 a barrel, while gold was up 0.2% to US$2,649.79.

The Australian dollar was at 64.31 US cents, down from its previous close of 64.83.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4% to 3,364.65, and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.2% to 2,024.41.

Hong Kong shares ended flat. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was unchanged at 19,742.46.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.1% to 39,276.39.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 0.1% to 80,956.33.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.3% to 8,335.81.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX increased 1.1% to 20,232.14, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.7% to 7,303.28.

North America

US stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 0.7% to 45,014.04, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 6,086.49, and the Nasdaq increased 1.3% to 19,735.12.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Salesforce Inc CRM, surging 10.99%, ServiceNow Inc NOW jumped 6.22%, and Edwards Lifesciences Corp EW lifted 5.70%.

The biggest decliners were Texas Pacific Land Corp TPL which dropped 11.59%, The Campbell's Co CPB fell 6.24%, and Albemarle Corp ALB lost 5.92%.