Australia

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

Australian shares are set to open lower, after US indexes rose slightly.

ASX futures were down 0.02% or 2 points as of 8:30am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks kicked off the shortened holiday trading week on a muted note.

Major stock indexes drifted aimlessly throughout the session before settling slightly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 10 points, or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite added less than 0.1%.

Stocks stand close to record highs after a strong start to the year and a robust corporate earnings season.

Some investors are nervous about signs of exuberance in the market, which they say leave shares vulnerable to potential threats, including mounting trade tensions. Wall Street is grappling with other potential risks to the rally such as signs of warm inflation and DeepSeek's threat to U.S. dominance in the AI space.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.78% to US$75.81 a barrel, while gold was down 0.03% to US$2,935.21.

The Australian dollar was at 63.52 US cents, down from its previous close of 63.55.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9% to 3,324.49, and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 2% to 2,007.34.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.6% to 22,976.81.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 0.2% to 39,270.4.

India shares ended flat. The BSE SENSEX was unchanged at 75,967.39.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 8,766.73.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 22,844.5, and France's CAC 40 increased 0.2% to 8,206.56.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA was unchanged at 44,556.34, the S&P 500 increased 0.2% to 6,129.58, and the Nasdaq gained 0.1% to 20,041.26.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI surging 16.38%, Intel Corp INTC jumped 16.25%, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA lifted 13.97%.

The biggest decliners were Medtronic PLC MDT which dropped 7.26%, Allegion PLC ALLE fell 5.66%, and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG lost 4.54%.