Australia

The Australian share market is set to open higher as base metals rise, Wall St indexes benefit from a lift in financial and tech stocks and trade war fears abate.

At 8.30am the futures index was up 30 points at 6054. The Australian dollar is buying 76.70 US cents. The US-listed shares of BHP and Rio Tinto rose 2.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

The Australian share market closed higher yesterday amid higher prices for iron ore and oil and stronger-than-expected economic growth figures. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 0.5 per cent to 6025.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 0.47 per cent to 6137.4 points.

Out today: ABS releases international trade and goods and services data for April. The Ai Group’s performance of construction index is also due out.

Coles, Bunnings and Officeworks owner Wesfarmers has a strategy day where key executives will lay out the company’s business plan and take questions from investors and analysts.

Asia

Asia’s key indexes followed the positive trend in the main. MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.63 per cent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.38 per cent at 22,625.73.

Hong Kong shares ended higher, clocking a fifth straight session of gains as investors monitor the latest developments in Sino-US trade talks.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.53 per cent, to 31,259.10, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.2 per cent, to 12,283.58 points.

Shanghai stocks ended flat, as gains in transport and material firms were offset by losses in banking and real estate shares.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.21 per cent lower at 3837.35 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed flat at 3115.18 points.

Europe

Gains among mining stocks on stronger metal prices helped British shares outperform a sluggish European equity market on Wednesday, while packaging firm RPC sold off sharply after updating investors on its spending plans.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index rose 0.33 per cent to close at 7712.37 points, and mid-caps climbed 0.6 per cent. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat.

Miners provided the biggest uplift to the FTSE as base metal prices rose, with copper and lead gaining ground on prospects of a supply squeeze.

Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta all rose more than 3 per cent, while BHP Billiton gained 2.5 per cent on reports the Anglo-Australian miner had received first bids for its US shale business.

European stocks closed flat at the end of a choppy session during which hawkish comments by the European Central Bank lifted the euro and bond yields.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended the day unchanged with bourses closing in different directions across the continent.

Germany's DAX was up 0.34 per cent, at 12,830.07, while Paris's CAC 40 was down 0.1 per cent at 5457.56.

The ECB's chief economist said robust growth was making the central bank increasingly confident that inflation is on its way back to target, raising the likelihood it may use a meeting next week to reveal more about the end of its bond-buying program.

North America

Wall Street indexes have rallied with help from financial stocks as investors eye strong economic data and trade war fears take a back seat while the Nasdaq registers its third straight record closing high.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late in the trading day that US president Donald Trump would meet French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau during a G7 summit this week.

While he said Trump is not backing down from the tough line he has taken on trade, the comments appeared to calm investors.

Earlier reports citing sources said US officials were weighing an offer by China to import an extra $US70 billion of American goods over a year as Beijing tries to defuse a potential trade war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 per cent, to 25,146.39, the S&P 500 gained 0.86 per cent, to 2772.35 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.67 per cent, to 7689.24.

 

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Morningstar with AAP

Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney.

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