Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks reached new highs following upbeat bank earnings.

ASX futures were up 0.55% or 46 points as of 8:00am on Monday, suggesting a higher open.

The S&P 500 and Dow climbed to new highs, powered by strong earnings results from some of the country's largest financial institutions.

The early signs of the bank earnings season are reassuring. At both JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, profit fell from a year earlier, but by less than analysts had feared. Both stocks gained more than 4%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.5% to US$79.04 a barrel, while gold was up 1.0% to US$79.04.

The Australian dollar was at 67.49 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.5% to 3,217.74, and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 3.9% to 1,834.94.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 3.0% to 21,251.98.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.6% to 39,605.80.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.3% to 81,381.36.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.2% to 8,253.65.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX added 0.8% to 19,373.83, and France's CAC 40 increased 0.8% to 7,577.89.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA rose 1.0% to 42,863.86, the S&P 500 added 0.6% to 5,815.03, and the Nasdaq lifted 0.3% to 18,342.94.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Uber Technologies Inc, surging 10.79%, Fastenal Co jumped 9.90%, and W.W. Grainger Inc lifted 5.82%.

The biggest decliners were Tesla Inc which dropped 8.78%, A.O. Smith Corp fell 6.25%, and Align Technology Inc lost 3.31%.