Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after Wall Street rises on positive Fed-rates talk.

ASX futures were up 0.5% or 37 points as of 8:30am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks ended higher as Chair Powell says brisk inflation and hiring data haven't altered the Federal Reserve's expectation that it will be appropriate to cut interest rates later this year.

DJIA gained 75 points to 38661, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5104 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.6% to 16031.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.1% to US$82.91 a barrel, while gold was up 0.8% at US$2,145.73.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was doen at 3.72% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.00%. US Treasury notes were mixed, with the 2 Year yield up at 4.56% and the 10 Year yield down at 4.11%.

The Australian dollar hit 65.63 US cents up from its previous close of 65.01. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 98.08.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mostly lower after swinging between gains and losses during the session. Investors are closely monitoring the key economic briefing by senior government officials at the ongoing NPC meeting this afternoon. Bank and real estate stocks led losses. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China dropped 2.0% and Agricultural Bank of China was 1.8% lower. Poly Developments & Holdings Group shed 1.9% and China Vanke was off 1.6%. Auto stocks rose broadly, with BYD up 0.4% and Great Wall Motor rising 1.3%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.3% lower at 3039.93, the Shenzhen Composite Index was 0.2% higher, while the ChiNext Price Index was off 0.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.7% higher at 16438.09, led by consumer-related names. Market sentiment was more optimistic after the PBOC governor said Wednesday that there is room for more RRR cuts. This came after China's NPC announcements on Tuesday were underwhelming for investors, Saxo's APAC strategy team wrote in commentary. Among advancers, JD.com gained 7.8%, Xinyi Glass rose 6.3% and China Resources Beer was 6.0% higher. The Hang Seng Tech Index closed 2.7% higher.

The Nikkei Stock Average closed flat at 40090.78 as falls in electronics stocks help offset gains in bank shares. Lasertec dropped 3.7% and TDK shed 3.5% while Resona Holdings climbed 2.9% and Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.9%. The broader Topix market index rose 0.4% to 2730.67. Investors are focused on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony later in the day. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield was up 1 basis point at 0.710%.

India's benchmark Sensex rose 0.55% to close at 74085.99, erasing earlier losses, on likely position adjustment. Market participants are watching U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony later today, where he is expected to reiterate the lack of urgency to cut rates, says UOB's global economics & markets research team in a note. Gainers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, which rose 2.5%; Axis Bank, which added 2.3%; and Bharti Airtel, which was up 2.15%. Meanwhile, decliners included UltraTech Cement, which was down 1.9%; and NTPC, which slipped 1.8%.

Europe

The European Central Bank's new growth and inflation forecasts on Thursday are likely to give an indication of how much flexibility the ECB has to shift policy in the months ahead, Jill Hirzel, senior investment specialist at Insight Investment says in a note. As for the inflation forecast, focus will be in particular on when the ECB sees inflation returning to 2%, she says. Markets will also be looking for any hints that rate cuts have been discussed, and that the ECB is in the process of shifting to a more dovish policy position, she says. STOXX Europe 600 finished up 0.4% at 498.2, CAC 40 closed up 0.2% at 7,954.7 and the DAX 40 edged up 0.1% at 17,716.7.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7671.54, tracking gains elsewhere after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was on track to cut interest rates later this year, although requires more evidence of a sustained slowing in inflation. The U.K.'s spring budget was broadly seen as modestly positive although many of the measures, including a cut to the national insurance element of taxation, had been widely expected. Growth forecasts were nudged higher, resulting in a "cautiously optimistic" tone in the budget statement, IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp notes. The FTSE 100's rise mirrors gains elsewhere, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index also up 0.3%.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher as Chair Powell says brisk inflation and hiring data haven't altered the Federal Reserve's expectation that it will be appropriate to cut interest rates later this year.

DJIA gained 75 points to 38661, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5104 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.6% to 16031.

Shares ended well below their highs for the day, however, as Friday's February employment report looms and the Fed remains data dependent.

New York Community Bank shares end up 7.5% after the troubled regional lender said it is raising more than $1 billion from a group of investors including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Shares had fallen over 40% earlier in the session.