Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after US stocks closed out August on a high note Friday.

ASX futures were down 0.22% or 18 points as of 8:00am on Monday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks closed a volatile week on a decent note Friday, as the latest inflation data didn't deflate hopes for an interest rate cut next month.

Major stock indexes thus picked up gains on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1% by the closing bell, while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 1.1%. The Dow picked up 0.6% by the day's close.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 2.4% to US$76.93 a barrel, while gold was down 0.7% at US$2,503.39.

The Australian dollar was at 67.62 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 2,842.21, and the Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 2.2% to 1,544.23.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.1% to 17,989.07.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.7% to 38,647.75.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.3% to 82,365.77.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 8,376.63.

In Europe, shares closed mixed. Germany's DAX was unchanged at 18,906.92, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.1% to 7,630.95.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA rose 0.6% to 41,563.08, the S&P 500 added 1.0% to 5,648.40, and the Nasdaq gained 1.1% to 17,713.62.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Intel Corp, surging 9.64%, GE Vernova Inc jumped 5.04%, and Western Digital Corp lifted 4.01%.

The biggest decliners were Ulta Beauty Inc which dropped 4.01%, APA Corp fell 2.90%, and Super Micro Computer Inc lost 2.48%.