Australia

Australian shares are set to rise on the back of a Wall Street rally, with oil and bond yields easing.

ASX futures were up 0.1% or 6 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

US stocks edged higher Wednesday, extending their winning streak to four consecutive trading sessions.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%.

Stocks have rebounded in recent sessions as bond yields pulled back, reversing a swift run-up in yields that had weighed on equities. Top Federal Reserve officials have signaled recently that the central bank could be done raising interest rates if long-term yields remain near highs and inflation continues to cool.

"It's more of a relief rally than anything else. That yields stopped going up is a source of strength within the equity markets," said Matt Stucky, chief equity portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.

According to a report Wednesday, producer prices climbed 0.5% in September from the month before, hotter than economists expected. But core producer prices, which strip out volatile food and energy categories, rose just 0.2% from the prior month. The closely watched consumer-price index is due out Thursday.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 2.5% to US$85.48 a barrel while gold was flat at US$1,874.36.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 3.99% while the 10 Year yield was down at 4.43%. US Treasury notes were lower, with the 2 Year yield at 4.98% and the 10 Year yield at 4.56%.

The Australian dollar hit 64.12 US cents down from the previous close of 64.29. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was flat at 99.86.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher, led by hospital and medical stocks. Sentiment was lifted by the fall in US Treasury yields and a report suggesting China may increase its fiscal deficit spending, Saxo Markets' APAC Strategy Team says in a research note. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.1% higher, the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.3% while the ChiNext Price Index rose 0.8%. Medical and hospital stocks led the gains as Top Choice Medical advanced 3.4% and Novogene rose 4%. Education stocks also gained with Astro-Century Education & Technology rising 19.9% and Xueda (Xiamen) Education Technology Group advancing 10%. Meanwhile, oil and gas-related stocks fell. XinJiang Beiken Energy Engineering declined 9.9% and Zhejiang Renzhi lost 10%.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 1.3% higher at 17893.10 as investor sentiment was boosted by new stimulus hopes in China. Despite the lackluster Golden Week, China's economy is stabilizing, as the services and manufacturing sectors have likely bottomed out, Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro and investment strategy at BNY Mellon said in a research note. Almost all sectors ended higher in the day's session, led by semiconductor and pharmaceutical companies. SMIC rose 6.7% and Xinyi Solar Holdings gained 7.2%. Wuxi Biologics (Cayman) ended up 4.9% and Sino Biopharmaceutical advanced 3.6%. Sunny Optical Technology surged 12% and Li Ning Company gained 5.3%. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 2.0%.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.6% higher at 31936.51 as gains in auto and chip stocks helped offset losses in financial and shipping shares. Lasertec gained 6.3% and Mazda Motor advanced 1.8%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.1% and Kawasaki Kisen dropped 6.1%. The broader Topix market index fell 0.2% at 2307.84. Investors are focused on crude-oil prices and US Treasury yields amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield was flat at 0.770%.

Indian shares closed higher, tracking regional gains. "Indian equities should remain on investors' radar as the growth outlook elsewhere remains weak," Amit Sachdeva, India equity strategist at HSBC, said in a research note. Local equities are largely driven by domestic factors and thus provide defensive opportunities for investors when global growth falters, the analyst added. Telecommunications stocks led gains, with Vodafone Idea up 7.3% and Avantel rising 4.7%. Among the stocks on the benchmark index, Wipro added 3.3% and Ultratech Cement gained 2.1%. State Bank of India lost 0.6% and HCL Technologies shed 1.2%. The Sensex closed 0.6% higher at 66473.05.

Europe

European stocks mostly rose after upbeat Asia trading and ahead of an expected higher US open. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2%, the DAX climbed 0.2%, though the CAC 40 dropped 0.4%. Automotive and defense shares rose, though luxury-goods stocks fell after a downbeat 3Q update from LVMH. Australian, mainland China and Japanese markets rose and stocks in Hong Kong and South Korea surged more than 1%. "US producer-price data is the main economic event of the day and will bring inflation back into focus, together with tomorrow's key CPI reading," IG analysts wrote.

The FTSE 100 closed 0.11% lower on Wednesday at 7,620.03 points after a steady session as markets pause for breath with yields and oil slipping back. "Energy has been a laggard along with oil prices which is weighing on the FTSE 100, although it is being helped on the other side of the ledger by resilience in defensives, with the likes of Imperial Brands, BAE Systems and Utilities," CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson wrote. Luxury stocks on London's blue-chip index also slid on readacross from LVMH's "underwhelming" results, along with construction sector stocks Howden Joinery and Kingfisher which were weighed by Travis Perkins' profit warning, he adds.

North America

US stocks edged higher Wednesday, extending their winning streak to four consecutive trading sessions.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%.

Stocks have rebounded in recent sessions as bond yields pulled back, reversing a swift run-up in yields that had weighed on equities. Top Federal Reserve officials have signaled recently that the central bank could be done raising interest rates if long-term yields remain near highs and inflation continues to cool.

"It's more of a relief rally than anything else. That yields stopped going up is a source of strength within the equity markets," said Matt Stucky, chief equity portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.

According to a report Wednesday, producer prices climbed 0.5% in September from the month before, hotter than economists expected. But core producer prices, which strip out volatile food and energy categories, rose just 0.2% from the prior month. The closely watched consumer-price index is due out Thursday.

Minutes from the Fed's September policy meeting showed a majority of officials believed then that one more rate increase this year would likely be appropriate, while some thought no further increases would be needed.

Traders are pricing in a roughly 91% probability of the Fed leaving its policy rate unchanged at its November policy meeting, up from a 77% probability a week ago, according to CME Group's fed-funds futures.

Investors this week have also monitored the Israel-Hamas war and the potential ramifications of geopolitical conflict on financial markets.

" 'Uncertainty' feels like the word of the year," said Sylvia Jablonski, chief executive and chief investment officer at Defiance ETFs.

US stocks have slumped in the past few months after an expectation-defying rally for much of 2023, with investors contending with concerns about the economy and the path of interest rates.

Among individual stocks Wednesday, shares of Birkenstock fell in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange, a discouraging sign for an IPO market that was just starting to show signs of rebounding. The company's initial public offering was priced at $46 a share—then the stock opened at $41 and closed at $40.20.

US-listed shares of Novo Nordisk rose 6.3% after the Danish drugmaker said a trial showed its blockbuster diabetes drug, Ozempic, could delay kidney disease's progression. Shares of Eli Lilly, which makes a rival weight-loss drug, also gained 4.5%. Shares of kidney dialysis company DaVita dropped 17%.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton's US-listed shares fell 2.5% after the world's biggest luxury-goods company reported a sharp slowdown in sales growth as it struggled to lure back big-spending Chinese consumers.

Exxon Mobil shares dropped 3.6% after the company agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources in a $60 billion deal.