Australia

Australian shares are set to edge higher after Wall Street ended last week with gains. Investors seem to think the US Federal Reserved might be towards the end of the hiking mindset.

ASX futures were up 95 points or 1.4% at 6764 as of 7:00am on Monday, pointing to a gain at the open.

Major US indexes started Friday with declines before turning higher, finishing the session near their highs of the day. The Dow added 748.97 points, or 2.5%, to 31082.56. The S&P 500 added 86.97 points, or 2.4%, to 3752.75. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite added 244.87 points, or 2.3%, to 10859.72.

All three major indexes ended with weekly gains of at least 4.7%, a reprieve after a prolonged period of volatility that has been marked by big swings for stocks and bonds around the globe. The Dow and S&P 500 finished their best weeks since June, while the Nasdaq closed with its best week since July.

Worries about the pace of interest-rate increases -- and whether they will help drive the US into a recession -- have driven a sharp selloff throughout the year.

"I think we're in the final innings of peak Fed hawkishness," said Christian Hoffmann, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management overseeing bonds.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 1.21% to $US93.5 a barrel, gold jumped 1.8% to US$ 1,657.69.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds jumped to 3.63% while the 10 Year rose to 4.19%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes jumped to 4.47% and the yield on the 10 Year US Treasury notes was up at 4.22%.

The Australian dollar hit 63.77 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies edged down to 103.86.

Asia

Chinese shares ended mixed, as software-service companies and the pharmaceutical sector's gains offset losses in consumer-related sectors. Property shares rose strongly in morning trade after state media reported Beijing will ease share-financing rules for certain companies that have real-estate businesses, but pared gains in the afternoon. Investors are watching the conclusion of the Party Congress this weekend. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1% to 3038.93, but lost 1.1% for the week. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.2% and the ChiNext Price Index shed 0.3%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell to a 13-year low, closing 0.4% lower at 16211.12 amid persisting concerns about the impact of monetary tightening on global growth. Losses among consumer-product sectors outweighed gains by property developers. Shenzhou International, which supplies Adidas, skidded 9.5% after the German company cut its full-year guidance; sportswear maker Li Ning extended a losing streak to the third session with a 3.2% decline. Among gainers, Country Garden Holdings gained 6.7% and Longfor Group advanced 3.5%, as sentiment was lifted by a state media report that share financing rules for some real-estate-related companies will be eased. The benchmark index lost 2.3% for the week.

Japanese stocks end lower, dragged by falls in real-estate and railway stocks, amid continued concerns about the borrowing costs. Sumitomo Realty & Development drops 2.3% and East Japan Railway loses 2.5%. Meanwhile, Disco jumps 7.9% after its 2Q net profit rose 37% to a record high. The Nikkei Stock Average falls 0.4% to 26890.58.

Europe

European stocks mostly dropped on Friday, with losses for sports-goods stocks offsetting gains for financial and mining shares. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.8%, the French CAC 40 lost 1% and the German DAX retreated 0.6%.

The situation was a bit different in London, where the FTSE 100 gains 0.2% as sterling fell against the dollar and euro amid UK political chaos. In the U.K., markets came under pressure Friday as investors wondered who will win the race to become the country's next prime minister after the resignation of Liz Truss on Thursday.

"The UK situation looks particularly bleak and that's before you consider the fact that the Conservative party is looking to elect a new leader less than two months after appointing the last," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam writes. "The fact Boris Johnson could make a spectacular return to No. 10 pretty much sums up how messed up the situation is."

Adidas drops 9.5% after a profit warning, hitting shares in Puma and sports-goods retailers.

North America

The Dow Jones Industrial Average raced to its best three-week stretch since November 2020, boosted by the prospect of a slower pace of interest rate increases and the latest batch of corporate earnings.

Major indexes started Friday with declines before turning higher, finishing the session near their highs of the day. The Dow added 748.97 points, or 2.5%, to 31082.56. The S&P 500 added 86.97 points, or 2.4%, to 3752.75. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite added 244.87 points, or 2.3%, to 10859.72.

All three major indexes ended with weekly gains of at least 4.7%, a reprieve after a prolonged period of volatility that has been marked by big swings for stocks and bonds around the globe. The Dow and S&P 500 finished their best weeks since June, while the Nasdaq closed with its best week since July.

Major indexes turned higher and Treasury yields paused their climb as The Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Reserve officials are set to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage point at their Nov. 1-2 meeting but are poised to debate shifting to a smaller increase in December.

Worries about the pace of interest-rate increases -- and whether they will help drive the U.S. into a recession -- have driven a sharp selloff throughout the year.

"I think we're in the final innings of peak Fed hawkishness," said Christian Hoffmann, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management overseeing bonds.

Investors have been closely watching earnings for clues on how rising rates, a strong dollar and high inflation are affecting company profits. Results for the third quarter have thus far been a mixed bag. US banks helped boost markets earlier this week with better-than-expected results, but cracks are showing elsewhere. So far, the net profit margin of S&P 500 companies in the third quarter is set to decrease for the fifth consecutive period.

Snap shares tumbled $3.03, or 28%, to $7.76, after the company reported a further slowdown in sales growth and signaled the digital-ad market could remain lackluster for some time.

"The reality is that we see weak growth, higher inflation, and earnings surprising to the downside. It's a pretty difficult combination," said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management. "This earnings season is going to still be OK. The worry is for the next two, in a way."

Twitter shares slid $2.55, or 4.9%, to $49.89, after Bloomberg News reported that Biden administration officials are discussing whether the US should subject some of Elon Musk's ventures to national-security reviews.

Still, the week has been dotted by several signs that the US economy is stronger than many initially feared. Several corporate leaders -- from those at JPMorgan Chase to Delta Air Lines -- have expressed confidence that the consumer remains strong. And fresh data on Thursday showed that the jobs market is still healthy.