Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after US stocks lost ground led by declines in technology stocks.

ASX futures were down 0.8% or 63 points as of 8:30am on Friday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks ended the day lower on Thursday.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.2% to 5,147.21, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 38,596.98, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4% to 16,049.08.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.9% to US$91.08 a barrel, while gold was down 0.4% at US$2,290.94.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 3.79% while the 10 Year yield was also up at 4.18%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.65% and the 10 Year yield at 4.31%.

The Australian dollar was 65.79 US cents up from its previous close of 65.62. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was unchanged at 98.85.

Asia

China and Hong Kong markets were closed for the Ching Ming Festival public holiday.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in financial and electronics stocks, as hopes continued for the Fed's rate cuts later this year. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 2.5% and Kokusai Electric climbed 4.5%. Kao advanced 5.1% after Hong Kong-based activist investor Oasis Management urged it to take actions to achieve its full potential. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to 39773.14. Investors are focusing on economic data and their policy implications. USD/JPY was at 151.65, compared with 151.69 as of Wednesday 5 p.m. Eastern Time. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose one basis point to 0.775%.

India's Sensex closed 0.5% higher at 74227.63, led by gains in bank and auto stocks. HDFC Bank added 3.1%, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.0% and Maruti Suzuki India advanced 1.2%. Among individual movers, KEC International rose 5.6% after it won new orders worth INR8.16 billion. Among decliners, JSW Steel fell 1.0%, Bharti Airtel was 1.4% lower and Reliance Industries shed 0.5%. The RBI's decision due tomorrow is in focus.

Europe

European shares closed mostly flat, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index and DAX 40 rising 0.2% to 510.84 and 18,403.13 respectively, and the CAC 40 flat at 8,151.55.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% at 7976 points on Thursday. "Today's action on the FTSE 100 has been driven by a combination of mining stocks and yield plays. While the commodity rally might be taking a breather today, mining stocks like Fresnillo and Anglo American have been firm favorites of late, and there is no sign of that move slowing down," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said. Mondi was the day's highest riser, up 6.5%, followed by Entain and Antofagasta, up 5.0% and 4.7%, respectively. Ocado Group, St. James's Place, and Admiral Group were the session's biggest fallers, down 5.0%, 2.4% and 2.1%, respectively.

North America

US stocks ended the day lower on Thursday.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.2% to 5,147.21, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 38,596.98, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4% to 16,049.08.