Australia

Please note: we will be discontinuing the Global Markets Report after 28 February.

Australian shares are set to open higher, while US markets were closed for the President's Day federal holiday.

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

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.74% to US$75.29 a barrel, while gold was up 0.49% to US$2,896.56.

The Australian dollar was at 63.59 US cents, up from its previous close of 63.49.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,355.83, and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.7% to 2,048.64.

Hong Kong shares ended flat. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was unchanged at 22,616.23.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 0.1% to 39,174.25.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX lifted 0.1% to 75,996.86.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.4% to 8,768.01.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX rose 1.3% to 22,798.09, and France's CAC 40 increased 0.1% to 8,189.13.

North America

US markets were closed for the President's Day federal holiday.