Markets
Global Markets Report - 25 July
Australian shares are expected to open higher after gains on Wall Street.
Australia
Australian shares are poised to open higher with futures up 45 points or +0.6% at just before 5am AEST. This follows a positive day on Wall Street as the S&P 500 rose 18.30 points or .40%.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil gained 1.98% to US$81.76 a barrel while gold dipped slightly to US$1,933.63.
Australian government bond yields dipped, with the 2 Year yield climbing to 3.97% and the 10 Year yield down to 3.99%. US Treasury notes were higher, with the 2 Year yield increasing to 4.92% and the 10 Year yield moving up to 3.87%.
The Australian dollar strengthened against the US dollar to $.6738.
Asia
Chinese shares closed down Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index 0.11% lower at 3164.16.
Hong Kong shares also ended lower with the Hang Seng Index down 2.13% at 18688.15.
In Japan shares rose. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.23% to 32700.94.
Europe
European stocks ended Monday with mixed results ahead of interest rate decisions by the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
Germany's Dax rose closing up 0.8% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.7%.
The British FTSE 100 rose .19% to 7678.59 points.
North America
US stocks gained ahead of a busy week of tech earnings and a key interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.
On Monday, the Dow added 0.35%, or about 1833 points. The S&P 500 also climbed 0.40%, while the Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted in technology stocks, was up .19%.
Earnings season picks up steam this week with companies including Microsoft and Facebook-owner Meta due to report. Investors will also be on the lookout for clues as to the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates later this year. The central bank is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point to a 22-year high when it meets next week.
