Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks and Treasury yields rose ahead of the latest updates on inflation and weekly jobless claims.

ASX futures were up 0.40% or 33 points as of 8:00am on Thursday, suggesting a higher open.

In the US, the S&P 500 closed at a record, with attention turning to the start of earnings season.

Third-quarter results season gets under way in earnest Friday, when several of the largest banks are set to report.

Stocks rose, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average out front, adding 1%. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to close at a record. The Nasdaq Composite grew 0.6%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 0.6% to US$76.71 a barrel, while gold was down 0.5% to US$2,608.51.

The Australian dollar was at 67.09 US cents, down from its previous close of 67.44.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 6.6% to 3,258.86, and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 8.6% to 1,917.31.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 1.4% to 20,637.24.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.9% to 39,277.96.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX lost 0.2% to 81,467.10.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.6% to 8,243.74.

In Europe, shares closed higher. Germany's DAX increased 1.0% to 19,254.93, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.5% to 7,560.09.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 1.0% to 42,512.00, the S&P 500 lifted 0.7% to 5,792.04, and the Nasdaq gained 0.6% to 18,291.62.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, surging 10.91%, Carnival Corp jumped 7.05%, and Royal Caribbean Group lifted 5.26%.

The biggest decliners were Constellation Energy Corp which dropped 6.19%, NRG Energy Inc fell 5.35%, and Boeing Co lost 3.39%.