Australia

Australian shares are set to rise today following a positive session on Wall Street. Although the US job market has proven impervious to higher interest rates, comments from an FOMC member boosted hopes for less aggressive hikes going forward.

ASX futures were 28 points or 0.38% in the green as of 8:00am on Friday.

US stocks climbed Thursday, with gains across sectors offsetting declines in financial and consumer discretionary shares.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 343 points, or 1.1%.

Major indices began the day mostly lower. Markets have been under pressure lately as hot economic data have convinced many investors that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer.

Stocks then wiped out their declines for the day after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that he "still very firmly" supported raising interest rates in quarter-point increments. While the Fed had raised rates in bigger increments last year, Mr. Bostic said there was a "plausible case" that past rate increases would slow the economy more notably later on.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil added 0.32% to $US84.58 a barrel while gold remained near US$1,837.62.

Australian government bond yields edged higher, with the 2 Year increasing to 3.56% and the 10 Year rising to 3.86%. US Treasury note yields continued their ascent, with the 2 Year leaping to 4.89% and the 10 Year reaching 4.07%.

The Australian dollar fell to 67.27 US cents from its previous close of 67.59. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged up to 97.93.

Asia

Chinese stocks ended lower, retreating from solid gains made on Wednesday, when the market got a boost from the country's upbeat February PMI data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.05% to 3310.65, while the Shenzhen Composite Index was down 0.5% at 2152.64. The ChiNext Price Index was the worst performer, slipping 1.0% to 2418.60. Companies along the electric vehicle supply chain dragged the market. Concerns rose over EV sales after weak earnings and guidance from major car maker Nio. Tesla's newly unveiled plan to drop the use of rare earth metals in its future permanent magnet electric motors further weighed on rare earth miners. Battery makers CATL and Fujian Nebula Electronics lost 2.7% and 7.3% respectively, while China Rare Earth Resources fell 6.4%.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 0.9% lower at 20429.46 after rebounding Wednesday from a recent slump. Investors digested China's upbeat February PMI data amid persistent worries over headwinds from rising global rates and geopolitical tensions. Companies along the electric vehicle supply chain performed poorly. NIO dropped 13% while XPeng fell 5.05%. Tech stocks also finished lower, with the Hang Seng Tech Index declining 1.4% to 4126.31. Alibaba Group shed 4.7% and JD.com was 2.3% lower. Transportation companies were a bright spot. Orient Overseas (International) gained 6.7% and Air China was 5.2% higher.

Japanese stocks ended slightly lower, dragged by weakness in electronics shares, amid persistent concerns over policy tightening by central banks and its impact on the economy. Rohm dropped 5.2% and Lasertec shed 1.9%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.1% to 27498.87.

India's benchmark Sensex index ended 0.8% lower at 58909.35, tracking broad declines among other Asian equity markets. Investors worried that the U.S. Fed may raise interest rates higher for longer. Financial stocks declined, with Axis Bank dropping 2.3%, Kotak Mahindra Bank falling 1.3% and Bajaj Finance slipping 1.2%. Other laggards included Nestle India and Tech Mahindra, down 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Bajaj Finserv ended 0.1% lower after getting a license to start a mutual fund business.

Europe

European stocks rose Thursday despite eurozone CPI data topping expectations. February inflation reached 8.5% year-over-year, surpassing the 8.2% forecast. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 increased 0.5%, the French CAC 40 climbed 0.7% and the German DAX edged 0.2% higher.

The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index edged up Thursday to close 0.4% higher after spending most of the session in the red. "We've also seen a plethora of earnings announcements which have by and large been quite positive, but where the guidance has been slightly underwhelming hence today's weakness in the FTSE100," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson earlier in the day. Losses from insurer Beazley, consumer-healthcare business Haleon and asset manager Schroders were partly offset by gains from building materials company CRH, after well-received results boosted shares 8.0%.

"Eurozone inflation data has sparked another bout of upside for Treasury yields," IG analyst Joshua Mahony wrote. "The Nasdaq once again faces pressure thanks to lofty valuations and the potential for an economic downturn to dent future growth prospects. However, a decline in latest US initial jobless claims continues the theme of job market strength."

North America

US stocks climbed Thursday, with gains across sectors offsetting declines in financial and consumer discretionary shares.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 343 points, or 1.1%.

Major indices began the day mostly lower. Markets have been under pressure lately as hot economic data have convinced many investors that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer.

Stocks then wiped out their declines for the day after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that he "still very firmly" supported raising interest rates in quarter-point increments. While the Fed had raised rates in bigger increments last year, Mr. Bostic said there was a "plausible case" that past rate increases would slow the economy more notably later on.

Many investors say they are remaining cautious on stocks in the near term, given how much market sentiment has shifted based on the strength of economic data from month to month. Data Thursday showed that weekly jobless claims, considered a proxy for layoffs, were lower than expected, pointing to continued tightness in the labor market.

Stocks still look vulnerable to further declines, said Greg Bassuk, chief executive officer of AXS Investments, adding that he would be keeping a close eye on the release of consumer price index data later in the month.

Thursday's gains were broad, lifting all but two of the S&P 500's sectors.

Utilities and consumer-staples shares, which investors tend to think of as defensive plays because of their relatively big dividend payouts, led the market's advance.

Meanwhile, growth stocks, which tend to be sensitive to rising interest rates, were among the bigger decliners in the market.

Shares in Tesla dropped 6% after Chief Executive Elon Musk and his colleagues laid out their vision for the electric car maker. Advanced Micro Devices slipped 1.5%. Salesforce bucked the trend, surging 13% after the software provider said it expects widening profit margins and more revenue than analysts had forecast.