Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, while US stocks finished the week higher.

ASX futures were down 1.0 or 74 points as of 8:30am on Monday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks ended mostly higher after a late rally and posted their seventh straight weekly gain driven by expectations of Fed rate cuts next year.

DJIA climbed 56 points to 37305, another new high, helped by Boeing's 3.1% gain. The S&P 500 fell less than 1 point to 4719, while the Nasdaq added 52 points to 14813. For the week the major averages all rise over 2%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.1% to US$76.55 a barrel while gold was down 0.8% to US$2,019.62.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 3.87% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.14%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.44% and the 10 Year yield at 3.91%.

The Australian dollar was unchanged at 67.04 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 96.85.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower, reversing opening gains for the second consecutive session after economic data showed renewed signs of weakness in the world's second-largest economy. Retail sales fell on month in November and home sales by value dropped 4.3% on year in the first 11 months of 2023. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.6% lower at 2942.56. The Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.4% and the ChiNext Price Index fell 0.65%. The pharmaceuticals sector led losses as Jiangsu Hengrui shed 2.3% and WuXi AppTec lost 1.65%. The property sector led gains after Beijing and Shanghai eased home-buying curbs. Poly Developments & Holdings Group rose 2.5% and Greenland Holdings gained 1.3%.

Hong Kong shares closed higher, led by property and tech stocks. Investors remain optimistic that global central banks will pivot to lowering interest rates next year. Property stocks led gains after Beijing and Shanghai eased policies for home buyers. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties index rose 3.8%. Longfor Group Holdings gained 6.3% and China Resources Land advanced 5.85%. The tech sector was higher as well, with JD.com advancing 7.0% and Baidu up 4.1%. Sunny Optical Technology was among the few decliners, dropping 2.0%. China Unicom (Hong Kong) was down 1.2%. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was 2.4% higher at 16792.19 and the Hang Seng Tech Index was up 2.2%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.9% higher at 32970.55, joining in a pan-Asia rally, amid rising hopes that global central banks could pursue aggressive rate-cut paths in 2024. Chipmakers were among the top gainers, and exporters were helped by the yen giving up some of its recent gains against the greenback. Shin-Etsu Chemical gained 5.5%, Advantest added 3.85% and Mitsui O.S.K. rose 7.1%. At the other end, Seven & I fell 3.6%, SMFG shed 3.2% and Otsuka dropped 3.5%. Advancers outranked decliners 134 to 91. USD/JPY was at 141.96, compared with 141.43 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock-market close. On tap for next week is a Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting.

India's benchmark Sensex rose to a new high, posting its biggest one-day gain since March on a growing narrative that the era of higher interest rates is ending in the new year. HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys and State Bank of India led gains, rising 5.6%, 5.3%, 5.2% and 4.0%, respectively. Among the few decliners, Nestle India shed 1.75% and Bharti Airtel fell 1.3%. The Sensex closed 1.4% higher at 71483.75, boosting the week's gains to 2.4%. The benchmark index has risen in 12 of the past 14 trading days, lifting year-to-date returns to 17.5%.

Europe

European stocks ended mixed, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index steady at 476.61, while U.K. stocks lost ground and French stocks rose. The equity market's enthusiasm following Wednesday's Federal Reserve statement, which offered hints of possible interest-rate cuts next year has faded after European Central Bank and Bank of England statements suggested rate-cut talk was premature. Adding to this, New York Fed President John Williams said on Friday that rate-setters weren't actively debating rate cuts. "After six to seven weeks of consecutive weekly gains, some European and U.S. stock indices are beginning to show fatigue," IG analyst Axel Rudolph writes. Germany's DAX closed flat and France's CAC 40 rose 0.3%.

The FTSE 100 index fell slightly, down 0.1% at 7642.01, underperforming broadly higher European indexes after the Bank of England left interest rates on hold on Thursday but three out of nine policymakers still voted for an increase. This contrasted with Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting where signals were given that U.S. rates could be cut next year, prompting gains for stock markets globally. Better-than-expected U.K. flash purchasing managers' indexes, with the services and composite measures both at six-month highs, added to evidence that it remains too early for the BOE to consider cutting rates. "It's likely that cuts are further away than investors are expecting," writes Hargreaves Lansdown lead equity analyst Sophie Lund-Yates.

North America

US stocks ended mostly higher after a late rally and posted their seventh straight weekly gain driven by expectations of Fed rate cuts next year.

DJIA climbed 56 points to 37305, another new high, helped by Boeing's 3.1% gain. The S&P 500 fell less than 1 point to 4719, while the Nasdaq added 52 points to 14813. For the week the major averages all rise over 2%.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose, but still ended below 4% for the second straight day, while the dollar strengthened after falling sharply following the Fed statement.

Costco gained 4.4% to a record high after its earnings topped expectations.