Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, ahead of the Thankgsgiving holiday in the US.

ASX futures were down 0.2% or 12 point as of 8:30am on Thursday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks finished up for the day, with travel stocks gaining on a busy holiday travel day while some companies that reported earnings Wednesday were hit by losses.

DJIA finishes up 0.5% to 35273, S&P 0.4% higher to 4556, and Nasdaq up 0.5% to 14266.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.8% to US$81.78 a barrel while gold was down 0.4% to US$1,989.69.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was flat at 4.15% while the 10 Year yield was also unchanged at 4.44%. US Treasury notes were unchanged, with the 2 Year yield at 4.90% and the 10 Year yield at 4.41%.

The Australian dollar hit 65.32 US cents down from the previous close of 65.53. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 98.48.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower, extending opening losses as auto and hardware stocks fell. Equities struggled for direction in a mixed session for regional markets, as investors parsed the last earnings results of the season and Fed minutes overnight. EV maker BYD lost 1.8% while Great Wall Motor was 2.3% lower. Among hardware stocks, Hangzhou Hikvision lost 0.9% and Foxconn Industrial Internet shed 2.4%. Real-estate stocks added to the losses after giving up early gains. China Vanke dropped 0.7% and Poly Developments gave up 1.1%. Telecommunications was one of the few sectors ending in the green, with China Mobile up 1.6% and China Unicom rising 1.1%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.8% to 3043.61, the Shenzhen Composite Index was 1.2% lower and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index was off by 1.7%.

Hong Kong shares closed flat amid a lack of positive catalysts and risk appetite. The holiday-shortened trading week in U.S. and Japan may be limiting risk-taking activity as investors await clues that China's recent stimulus measures are succeeding in stabilizing its economy, IG market strategist Jun Rong Yeap said. PMI data from China next week will be in focus. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed flat at 17734.60 and the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.2%. The property sector led the gains. Country Garden Services added 2.3% and Longfor Group rose 0.9%. Tech giant Baidu was the top gainer, rising 4.5% after strong 3Q earnings. Travel agency Trip.com led the losses, down 4.1%, while Sunny Optical Technology shed 4.0%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% to close at 33451.83 amid JPY weakness and likely position adjustment ahead of Thursday's holiday in the U.S. and Japan. A mixed bag of companies led gains on the benchmark index. Transport firm Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rose 2.7%, Nissin Foods Holdings added 2.7%, and furniture and home accessories retailer Nitori Holdings was up 2.6%. The broader Topix index closed 0.4% higher at 2378.19. USD/JPY was at 148.74, up from 147.67 at around Tuesday's Tokyo stock-market close. The 10-year JGB yield was up 3bps at 0.725%.

Indian shares closed slightly higher, with the benchmark Sensex up 0.1% at 66023.24. The market expects the Fed won't hike interest rates any more, which could boost sentiment a bit, ICICI analysts wrote in an email. The power and technology sectors led gains. NTPC rose 1.5% and Power Grid Corp. of India gained 1.2%. Tech Mahindra and Infosys Ltd. gained 0.9% and 1.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, bank stocks led losses, with IndusInd Bank down 2.1%, Kotak Mahindra Bank dropping 1.2% and ICICI Bank losing 0.4%.

Europe

European stocks mostly rose after mixed Asia trading and ahead of an expected higher U.S. open. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.4% and the DAX and CAC 40 advanced about 0.5%, though the FTSE 100 traded flat ahead of the U.K. government's autumn budget statement. Oil shares traded mixed as Brent crude dropped 0.8% to US$81.78 a barrel. IG futures data shows the Dow opening at 35125, versus Tuesday's close of 35088. "In a bumper day for U.S. data, U.S. unemployment claims, durable-goods orders and weekly oil-inventory figures are among the figures being released," IG analysts write.

The U.K.'s blue-chip index ended the session 0.17% lower on Wednesday at 7,469.51 points. "The UK Autumn Statement wasn't a big market-moving event today and perhaps in the current environment, that's a good thing," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam writes in a market comment, pointing to recent speculation that Finance Chief Jeremy Hunt would announce measures that could run counter to the Bank of England's 2% inflation target. Home-improvement retailer group Kingfisher was the FTSE 100's worst performer on the back of weak third-quarter sales and another guidance cut. "Maybe the chancellor's largesse at the Autumn Statement, giving consumers a reduction in [national insurance] payments, will mean some extra spending heads towards Kingfisher—the share price could certainly do with some propping up," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp says.

North America

US stocks finished up for the day, with travel stocks gaining on a busy holiday travel day while some companies that reported earnings Wednesday were hit by losses.

DJIA finishes up 0.5% to 35273, S&P 0.4% higher to 4556, and Nasdaq up 0.5% to 14266.

Travel stocks that caught support ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday include United Airlines, up 0.9% as the airline considers the use of passenger data to sell targeted ads, along with American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, up 1.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

Notable companies hit after reporting earnings include Nvidia, which fell 2.5% for the day, while farm equipment supplier Deere dropped 3.1%.