Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stock indexes were narrowly mixed as markets waited for weekly and monthly employment data over the next few sessions.

ASX futures were up 0.02% or 2 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

Worries about a softening US labor market pushed the S&P 500 lower for a second consecutive day ahead of a key jobs report.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 1.3% to US$72.78 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,495.29.

The Australian dollar was at 67.22 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7% to 2,784.28, and the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.6% to 1,521.64.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slid 1.1% to 17,457.34.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average lost 4.2% to 37,047.61.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.2% to 82,352.64.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3% to 8,269.60.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX dropped 0.8% to 18,591.85, and France's CAC 40 lost 1.0% to 7,500.97.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA added 0.1% to 40,974.97, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 5,520.07, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3% to 17,084.30.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Tesla Inc, surging 4.18%, Mondelez International Inc jumped 4.15%, and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC lifted 4.09%.

The biggest decliners were Dollar Tree Inc which dropped 22.16%, Centene Corp fell 8.70%, and Molina Healthcare Inc lost 6.96%.