Australia

Australian shares are expected to rise today following a positive session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 finally closed 20% higher from its October 2022 low, marking the end of a painfully long bear market.

ASX futures were higher as of 6:00am Friday morning, having gained 34 points or 0.5%.

US stocks rose Thursday, ending the S&P 500's longest bear market since the 1940s and marking the start of a new bull run.

The broad index powered higher over the past few months, in large part because of a handful of companies posting outsize gains. Many of those same stocks, including Amazon.com, Tesla and Nvidia, led the market's advance Thursday.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, allowing the index to finish up 20% from its October low. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.0% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil dropped 1.6% to US$75.73 a barrel while gold increased 1.3% to US$1,965.19.

Australian government bonds were higher, with the 2 Year yield rising to 4.04% and the 10 Year yield climbing to 4.01%. US Treasury notes were also higher, with the 2 Year yield jumping to 4.51% and the 10 Year yield rising to 3.71%.

The Australian dollar increased to 67.13 US cents from its previous close of 66.50. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged down to 97.13.

Asia

Chinese shares ended mixed, extending a muted trading pattern. Weak monthly trade data released Wednesday continued to raise investor concerns over China's slowing economic recovery. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3213.59. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.15% to 1992.33 and the ChiNext Price Index declined 0.3% to settle at 2123.96. Cinema operator Guangzhou Jinyi was among the worst decliners with a 6.2% drop, while white-goods maker Midea advanced 3.0%.

Hong Kong stocks finished higher as strength in transportation, energy and property shares offset weakness in tech names. The city's Hang Seng Index closed 0.25% higher at 19299.18, after China's largest state-owned commercial banks trimmed deposit rates, spurring hopes of more spending to boost the country's economy. Country Garden added 10%, while Trip.com rose 5.1% after quarterly results. Among the decliners, Alibaba Health and BYD each lost 2.0% while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. fell 1.8% and Xiaomi shed 1.6%.

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in tech and electronics shares, as concerns about the scope of monetary policy tightening by central banks resurfaced. Keyence dropped 3.5% and M3 declined 3.2%. Meanwhile, Eisai surged 7.4% after the US Food and Drug Administration's review memo on Leqembi raised expectations for full approval of the Alzheimer's drug. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.9% to 31641.27.

In India, the Sensex index fell 0.5% to close at 62848.64 after comments from central bank leaders. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the monetary policy committee decided to stay focused on accommodation withdrawal, suggesting that policy will remain tight. Expectations of an RBI rate cut during this calendar year appear to have faded, said Dhiraj Relli, managing director & CEO of HDFC Securities. The worst performers on the Sensex included Kotak Mahindra Bank and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, which each dropped 2.7%, and Tech Mahindra, which lost 2.0%. Meanwhile, NTPC rose 2.6% and Larsen & Toubro added 1.1%.

Europe

European stocks had mixed results on Thursday as investors digested economic data from the US and Europe. Eurozone first quarter gross domestic product data was downwardly revised to a 0.1% quarter-on-quarter decline while US initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the week leading up to June 3. Next week's interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve remain in focus. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 ended flat while the German DAX rose 0.2% and the French CAC 40 gained 0.3%.

In London, the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.3% to 7599 points, dragged by financial and consumer goods stocks, on the back of increasing concerns over a further rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson explained. "With the prospect of more interest rate rises on the way, yields pushed higher, which in turn acted as a drag on equity markets more broadly," he noted.

Endeavour Mining led the list of fallers, closing down 1.9%, followed by retailer JD Sports and Beazley, down 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively. Retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown outperformed the British index, moving up 3.1%.

North America

US stocks rose Thursday, ending the S&P 500's longest bear market since the 1940s and marking the start of a new bull run.

The broad index powered higher over the past few months, in large part because of a handful of companies posting outsize gains. Many of those same stocks, including Amazon.com, Tesla and Nvidia, led the market's advance Thursday.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, allowing the index to finish up 20% from its October low. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.0% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.

Analysts attributed the relative calm to traders taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead of key events next week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release fresh data on inflation Tuesday, while the Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rate decision Wednesday.

So far, positioning in futures markets suggests many traders are betting the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged in June. That might offer markets some relief in the short-term, although investors warn that there could still be more policy tightening ahead.

"A pause does not mean they are done with rate hikes," said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors.

Traders are betting volatility could pick up in the coming months. The options contracts with the biggest positions tied to the Cboe Volatility Index, or Wall Street's "fear gauge," are wagers that it will surge to 30 -- a level associated with investor anxiety -- or 60, a level only seen during stock market crashes.

Among individual stocks, Tesla jumped 4.6% to $234.86, posting its 10th straight session of gains. That marked the electric car maker's longest winning streak since an 11-session run that ended in January 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Carvana, the online used car retailer, rose 56% to $24.23 after saying it expects its profit to jump in the second quarter.

GameStop plunged 18% to $21.44 after the videogame retailer fired its CEO, Matt Furlong, and appointed board member Ryan Cohen as its new executive chairman.