Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after the Nasdaq continued its rally to finish the week up 2%.

ASX futures were up 0.1% or 11 points as of 8:30am on Monday, suggesting a slightly higher open.

U.S. stocks start the month rallying led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reaching a new all-time high, rising 1% to 16275, and gaining 2% this week.

The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 5137, a new all-time high, and rose 1% for the week. The DJIA rose 0.2% to 39087.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose 2.0% to US$83.55 a barrel, while gold was up 1.9% at US$2,082.92.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was up at 3.80% while the 10 Year yield was unchanged at 4.14%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.53% and the 10 Year yield at 4.18%.

The Australian dollar hit 65.25 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 98.48.

Asia

Chinese shares ended higher on Friday as investors look to major political meetings starting next week in the hopes of more stimulus. HSBC analysts think that authorities will take a proactive fiscal stance, offering a more concrete plan to support the market, they write in a research note. Among major stocks, Dawning Information Industry rose 7.6% and iFlytek added 6.4%. Decliners included China Southern Airlines, which dropped 3.55% and Air China, which fell 2.4%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to 3027.02, the Shenzhen Composite Index increased 1.1%, while the ChiNext Price Index gained 0.9%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% to close at 16589.44. Investors are likely keeping an eye on China's major political meetings next week amid hopes for more stimulus. Gains on the benchmark index were led by consumer-related names. Meituan rose 11%, Lenovo Group gained 4.8% and China Unicom (Hong Kong) added 7.0%. Meanwhile, property stocks were among top losers. New World Development was down 6.8%, Wharf Real Estate Investment Company fell 3.4% and China Resources Mixc Lifestyle Services shed 2.3%. NetEase slipped 1.9% after the company's results didn't meet market expectations.

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 49.1 points or 0.6% higher, according to IG, having closed on Thursday at 7630.02, tracking gains in the U.S. and Asia on relief that U.S. inflation figures were in line with expectations. "The new month kicked off with several stock market indices hitting record highs on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all closed at fresh record peaks," IG analysts write. Eurozone inflation data are due at 1000 GMT which should indicate that inflation is moving back toward the 2% target, they say. U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI data are also due at 1500 GMT.

India's Sensex rose 1.7% to close at 73745.35 after the country reported better-than-expected economic growth in the latest quarter. Looking ahead, "consumption is expected to benefit from easing inflation and anticipated reduction in rates, besides better sentiments, and real wage growth," Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Group Research, says in a note. Among the advancers, Tata Steel climbed 6.5%, JSW Steel rose 4.5% and Larsen & Toubro was 4.4% higher.

Europe

European stocks rose, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.6% at 497.58, helped after eurozone data showed inflation slowed while U.S. ISM manufacturing figures were weaker than expected. Both sets of data increase the likelihood of interest-rate cuts by the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve in the months to come. "The eurozone's flash CPI...came in higher than forecast, but lower than the previous readings. The news helped to lift the major European stock indices," writes David Morrison, analyst at fintech and financial services provider Trade Nation. Germany's DAX index rose 0.3%, having earlier hit another record high. The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% and France's CAC 40 underperformed, trading in just-positive territory.

The FTSE 100 index ended the week on a high-note, rising 0.7% to 7,682.5 points, after U.K. house prices returned to year-on-year growth for the first time in thirteen months. "The FTSE 100, although still trailing its peers by a large margin, also ended the day in positive territory as U.K. house prices rise for the first time in over a year ahead of next week's budget," IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph said in a market comment. Educational publishing and services company Pearson was the day's top riser, surging 5.4%, on reporting higher full-year profit and extending its buyback scheme.

North America

U.S. stocks start the month rallying led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reaching a new all-time high, rising 1% to 16275, and gaining 2% this week. The index includes AI chipmaker Nvidia, which gains 4% to close with a market cap above $2 trillion for the first time, a feat previously accomplished only by Apple and Microsoft. Data storage and protection provider NetApp rose 18%, its largest one-day jump since 2002, after better-than-expected fiscal 3Q results. New York Community Bancorp falls 26% amid concerns about its loan controls.

The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 5137, a new all-time high, and rose 1% for the week. The DJIA rose 0.2% to 39087.

Dell Technologies posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue as the maker of personal computers continues to see robust demand for artificial-intelligence servers. The company said its backlog of AI servers has now reached $2.9 billion, compared with $1.6 billion last quarter. Dell has shipped $1.5 billion of AI servers over the last two quarters, and said it has a pipeline of interest in AI servers that is "multiples" of the current backlog. Dell also said it was increasing its annual cash dividend 20% to $1.78 a share. Shares surged 32%.

Spirit Aerosystems soared 15% after The Wall Street Journal reported Boeing was in talks to acquire the troubled parts supplier. Spirit has hired bankers to explore strategic options and has had preliminary discussions with its former owner, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Boeing spun off Spirit Aerosystems in 2006.

New York Community Bancorp plunged 26% after disclosing that fourth-quarter earnings would take a hit of $2.4 billion from a goodwill impairment charge, and separately that it had identified "material weaknesses" in its loan review process. The weaknesses, the bank said, resulted from ineffective oversight, risk assessment, and monitoring activities. The regional lender also announced CEO Thomas Cangemi would be stepping down after 27 years with the bank.

NetApp rose 18% after issuing strong guidance for 2024. The data storage company said it expects adjusted profit in the year of $6.40 and $6.50 a share, compared with previous expectations of $6.05 to $6.25. NetApp forecast 2024 revenue of $6.185 billion to $6.335 billion.

Cybersecurity company Zscaler reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted profit that beat analysts' estimates as revenue rose to $525 million from $388 million a year earlier. Zscaler expects third-quarter adjusted earnings of 64 cents to 65 cents a share on revenue of $536 million. Analysts had been calling for third-quarter earnings of 58 cents a share on revenue of $532 million. Zscaler shares, however, fell 9.4%.

SoundHound AI, the artificial-intelligence voice technology company, narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter on a sales jump of 80%, boosted by a contribution from "pre-eminent AI chip company," according to CEO Keyvan Mohajer, who wouldn't disclose the customer's name. That company is thought to be Nvidia. The stock though fell 19% as fourth-quarter sales of $17.1 million missed estimates of $17.7 million. SoundHound also had forecast that it would be profitable in the quarter on the basis of adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. But the company actually lost $3.7 million on that basis.

Sweetgreen rose 28% after the salad-restaurant chain issued first-quarter revenue guidance higher than analysts' estimates. The company said it sees first-quarter revenue of $150 million to $154 million vesus analysts' estimates of $147.8 million.

Plug Power said doubts about its ability to continue as a "going concern" no longer exist. The stock rose 10.2%. The hydrogen-technology company disclosed in a 10-K filing that losses in 2023 totaled $1.4 billion, or $2.30 a share, compared with losses in 2022 of $724 million, or $1.25 a share.

Elastic, the enterprise data software company, reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings and sales that beat Wall Street estimates, and said it expects fourth-quarter sales of $328 million and $330 million, compared with expectations of $327 million. Shares declined 13%.

Autodesk posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.09 a share, better than Wall Street estimates, and revenue of $1.47 billion that also beat forecasts. The stock rose 2.5%. Autodesk said it expects fiscal 2025 sales of $5.99 billion to $6.09 billion, higher than Wall Street forecasts of $5.96 billion. CEO Andrew Anagnost, in an interview with Barron's, highlighted opportunities the design software company has with generative artificial intelligence.

Fisker, the electric-vehicle start-up, reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter sales and issued a "going concern" warning with its update. Fisker said it was in "negotiations with a large automaker for a potential transaction which could include an investment in Fisker, joint development of one or more electric vehicle platforms, and North America manufacturing." The company also said it intends to reduce its workforce by about 15%. The stock fell 34% to 48 cents.