Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after modest rises for European and Asian equities overnight.

ASX futures were up 0.2% or 12 point as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving national holiday.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.7% to US$81.42 a barrel while gold was up 0.1% to US$1,992.25.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 4.20% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.48%. US Treasury notes were unchanged, with the 2 Year yield at 4.90% and the 10 Year yield at 4.40%.

The Australian dollar hit 65.57 US cents up from the previous close of 65.39. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 98.36.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher, driven by more stimulus measures for the Chinese property sector. Shenzhen's recent measures to ease the purchase of second homes and media reports about a "white list" for financing property developers boosted market sentiment, Saxo market strategist Redmond Wong said. Auto and autoparts stocks drove the gains as Chongqing Changan Automobile rose 6.75% and Huayu Automotive Systems added 2.1%. Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic gained 1.4%. Beverage and airlines stocks led the losses as Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Wine Factory dropped 1.05% and Anhui Yingjia Distillery was down 1.0%.Hainan Airlines Holding shed 0.2% and Juneyao Airlines shed 0.1%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.6% higher at 3061.86 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 0.8%. The ChiNext Price Index advanced 0.6%.

Hong Kong shares closed higher, supported by optimism over additional stimulus measures for China's property sector. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.0% and Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.2%. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index rose 6.4%. Bloomberg reported that China may allow banks to offer unsecured short-term loans to qualified developers, citing people familiar with the matter. This could be another sign the Chinese government is temporarily putting aside its deleveraging strategy, although banks might "be very unwilling" to release unsecured loans, Saxo market strategist Redmond Wong said. Longfor Group led gains, rising 13%, and Country Garden Services advanced 12%. Baidu rose 7.2% rallied for the second consecutive day after strong 3Q earnings and analyst upgrades. Trip.com was up 4.6%. New World Development led losses, dropping 6.4%, while Techtronic Industries was down 3.3%.

Japan's markets were closed for the Labor Thanksgiving Day public holiday.

Indian shares closed flat amid mixed global cues ahead of a U.S. holiday. Asian markets ended mixed after overnight gains on Wall Street. Gains in bank and steel stocks offset losses in infrastructure and tech companies. IndusInd Bank led gains on the index, rising 1.2%. HDFC Bank was up 0.6%. JSW Steel climbed 1.05% and Tata Steel added 0.5%. Meanwhile, UltraTech Cement led losses as it dropped 1.75%, and Larsen & Toubro was down 1.1%. Bajaj Finance and Tata Consultancy Services shed 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. The benchmark Sensex closed flat at 66017.81.

Europe

European stocks mostly gained after mixed Asia trading, with oil stocks among the biggest risers as crude prices recovered some of Wednesday's losses. The Stoxx Europe 600 edged 0.1% higher and the DAX and CAC 40 advanced 0.2%. Brent crude fell 0.7% to $81.42 a barrel, having dropped to about $79 Wednesday following news of a delay to this weekend's planned meeting of OPEC and its allies. "European stocks remain bid following a sharp fall in U.S. initial jobless claims and durable-goods orders, but are expected to trade in low volumes due to holidays in Japan and the U.S. until the weekend," IG analysts wrote.

London's blue-chip index ended the session 0.19% higher on Thursday, breaking a three-day losing streak. "With U.S. markets shut for Thanksgiving, European stock indices drift higher amid low volume trading," IG analyst Axel Rudolph wrote in a market comment. The FTSE 100's rise was helped by encouraging surveys pointing to a pick up in business activity, Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said. "U.K. services [Purchasing Managers Index] unexpectedly moved back into growth territory, reinforcing the view that the economy may once again defy expectations and avoid recession," Erlam wrote.

North America

US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving national holiday.