Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks rose, led by tech and ahead of earnings on Friday.

ASX futures were up 0.18% or 15 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a higher open.

In the US, gains by the technology sector pushed the S&P 500 higher, while all the big tech stocks in the Magnificent Seven advanced.

The S&P 500 rose 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 4.2% to US$77.56 a barrel, while gold was unchanged at US$2,621.83.

The Australian dollar was at 67.44 US cents, up from its previous close of 67.56.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.6% to 3,489.78, and the Shenzhen Composite Index lifted 8.9% to 2,098.77.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 9.4% to 20,926.79.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1.0% to 38,937.54.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 0.7% to 81,634.81.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 1.4% to 8,190.61.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% to 19,066.47, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.7% to 7,521.32.

North America

U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA increased 0.3% to 42,080.37, the S&P 500 rose 1.0% to 5,751.13, and the Nasdaq rose 1.4% to 18,182.92.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Palantir Technologies Inc, surging 6.60%, Edwards Lifesciences Corp jumped 6.17%, and Palo Alto Networks Inc lifted 5.06%.

The biggest decliners were Marathon Petroleum Corp which dropped 7.66%, Valero Energy Corp fell 5.31%, and Super Micro Computer Inc lost 5.05%.