Australia

Australian shares are set to edge lower. US stocks ended a shortened trading session Friday mixed, with markets subdued following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

ASX futures were down 8 points or 0.2% at 7264 as of 7:00am on Monday, pointing to a slip at the open.

The S&P 500 fell 1.14 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4026.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 58.96 points, or 0.5%, to 11226.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.97 points, or 0.4%, to 34347.03. US stock markets closed early at 1 p.m. ET.

Despite the interruption of the holiday, equities continued their recent winning streak. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% for the week, and has risen four of the last six weeks. The Dow gained 1.8% this week, and has risen in six of the past eight weeks.

Investors have been watching Black Friday crowds for clues on how spending among US consumers is holding up amid high inflation and rising borrowing costs. Recent economic data has suggested consumers continue to spend, but analysts have a mixed outlook for the crucial holiday period.

"In the US, we could have an OK holiday season," said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil slipped 2% to $US83.63 a barrel, gold was flat at US$1,754.93.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose to 3.18% while the 10 Year rose to 3.57%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes declined to 4.45% and the yield on the 10 Year US Treasury notes was down at 3.68%.

The Australian dollar hit 67.5 US cents down from the previous close of 67.61. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies edged up to 98.86.

Asia

China stocks ended the session mixed, extending a muted trading pattern amid a week of mixed signals. While the latest minutes from Federal Reserve meetings showed that officials thought they should slow the pace of interest-rate increases soon, investor sentiment remained cautious as China's Covid infections surged and local governments tightened restrictions. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to settle at 3101.69, while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.7% to 1984.18.

Hong Kong stocks ended the session lower, snapping a short-lived recovery. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 0.5% to settle at 17573.58. Jewellery maker Chow Tai Fook led the losses with a 16% plunge, marking the stock's worst-ever one-day decline since listing in 2011. Other consumer-goods and services companies also weakened, with Haidilao dropping 4.6% and Mengniu Dairy down by 2.2%. The sector has been under pressure lately as investor sentiment soured amid China's expanding Covid outbreaks.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.35% to close at 28283.03, tracking losses in most regional equity markets. Most asset markets stayed in consolidation mode after the latest FOMC minutes-driven surge, says Charu Chanana, market strategist at Saxo Markets, in an email, adding that China's zero-Covid policy remains in focus.

Europe

European stocks trade mixed as investors weigh the prospect of further aggressive interest-rates rises by the European Central Bank against a potential slowdown in policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 and German DAX are flat, the English FTSE rose 0.3% and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.1%.

"European stocks have struggled to mount a serious move in either direction--everyone seems to just want to get to the weekend without any unpleasant surprises," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote.

ECB official Isabel Schnabel on Thursday signaled her desire to continue with rate hikes of 75 basis points, while the Fed's meeting minutes on Wednesday showed most policymakers expect the pace of rate rises to slow soon.

North America

US stocks ended a shortened trading session Friday mixed, with markets subdued following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 fell 1.14 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4026.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 58.96 points, or 0.5%, to 11226.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.97 points, or 0.4%, to 34347.03. US stock markets closed early at 1 p.m. ET.

Despite the interruption of the holiday, equities continued their recent winning streak. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% for the week, and has risen four of the last six weeks. The Dow gained 1.8% this week, and has risen in six of the past eight weeks.

Investors have been watching Black Friday crowds for clues on how spending among US consumers is holding up amid high inflation and rising borrowing costs. Recent economic data has suggested consumers continue to spend, but analysts have a mixed outlook for the crucial holiday period.

"In the US, we could have an OK holiday season," said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank.

But adjusting for inflation, holiday sales are expected to decline for the first time since 2009, according to S&P Global, suggesting that people are buying fewer, higher-priced items.

"It was very easy in the first stage of inflation because there was this buildup of savings," said Mr. Garnry. "We've eaten through that surplus and now we're getting to the more difficult stage of this inflation shock."

Nevertheless, US stocks had historically done well on Black Friday. The S&P 500 had risen in 50 of the previous 71 Black Friday trading sessions, not counting this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. But it is also often subdued as traders take the day off to extend their Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500's average Black Friday gain is about 0.3% since 1950.

In corporate news, shares of Activision Blizzard fell $3.12, or 4.1%, to $73.47 after Politico reported late Wednesday that the Federal Trade Commission was likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block its acquisition by Microsoft.

Shares of Manchester United jumped $2.41, or 13%, to $21.21, continuing to gain on news that the controlling Glazer family is exploring a sale.