Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks rebounded on Thursday.

ASX futures were up 0.5% or 35 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a higher open.

Technology shares led US stock indexes higher Thursday ahead of a key jobs report that will give investors their next look at how the U.S. economy is faring.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%, while the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.9%, snapping two-day losing streaks for both indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.9%, or 322 points.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.3% to US$83.71 a barrel, while gold was down 0.8% at US$2,146.09.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 4.12% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.44%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.87% and the 10 Year yield at 4.58%.

The Australian dollar was 65.64 US cents, up from its previous close of 65.20. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 99.80.

Asia

China markets were closed for the Labour Day public holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 2.5% higher at 18207.13, crossing the 18000 level for the first time since November, and tracking U.S. futures higher. Investors are likely digesting the U.S. Fed's remarks signalling that rate cuts may not come soon, but that rate hikes are also unlikely. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has also warned that the "high interest rate environment may last for some time." Country Garden Services soared 13%, while Alibaba Health Information Technology and JD Health International each rose 11%. Among decliners, PetroChina was 3.8% lower, Techtronic Industries fell 3.3% and China Resources Power shed 2.15%.

The Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.1% lower at 38236.07, dragged by auto and electronics stocks despite gains in trading houses. Mazda Motor shed 3.2% and TDK dropped 3.0%. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Corp. gained 4.4% after it projected a 37% increase in fiscal-year net profit and announced a share buyback. Earnings remained in focus. The broader Topix index ended flat at 2728.53. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose one basis point to 0.900%, while the 30-year yield gained 1.5 bps to 1.980%, its highest level since February 2013.

India's benchmark Sensex rose 0.2% to 74611.11 after the Federal Reserve's comments, which seemed less hawkish than expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated the central bank was more likely to keep interest rates at their current level for longer than to raise them again. Among major stocks, Tata Motors rose 2.0% and HDFC Bank added 1.05%. Decliners include ICICI Bank, which fell 1.05%; and Wipro, which dropped 1.1%.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Thursday, as the FTSE 100 Index increased 0.6% to 8172.15. Among large companies, Standard Chartered PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 8.8% to GBP756.00, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC surged 5.1% to GBP106.40. Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC rounded out the top three movers on Thursday, as shares gained 4.8% to GBP228.80. Ithaca Energy PLC posted the largest decline, dropping 5.4% to GBP112.00, followed by shares of Zegona Communications PLC, which fell 4.3% to GBP220.00. Shares of Alphawave IP Group PLC fell 4.0% to GBP111.40.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.1% to 503.21, the CAC 40 slid 0.9% to 7,914.65 and the DAX 40 slipped 0.2% to 17,896.50.

North America

Technology shares led stock indexes higher Thursday ahead of a key jobs report that will give investors their next look at how the U.S. economy is faring.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%, while the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.9%, snapping two-day losing streaks for both indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.9%, or 322 points.

The Federal Reserve this week acknowledged a recent setback in its inflation fight but indicated that it was still more likely to lower interest rates than raise them again. That has helped support the appetite for riskier investments such as stocks over government bonds, which are viewed as safer to hold in periods of uncertainty.

"It was a little bit of a sigh of relief in that the Fed isn't thinking about restarting the hiking cycle," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. "You look at the general macroeconomic picture and things seem pretty solid, and the Fed reiterated that."

Record first-quarter sales from Amazon.com earlier this week also boosted optimism for big tech firms. After the market close, Apple reported quarterly sales and earnings that fell from a year ago, but not as much as analysts expected. The iPhone-maker also authorized $110 billion in stock buybacks, and its shares rose in after-hours trading.

Stocks have stumbled in recent weeks after a streak of firmer-than-expected inflation data dimmed expectations for rate cuts in 2024. Investors are now betting that the Fed will cut rates just once or twice this year.

For the year, the S&P 500 is still up 6.2%.

Investors will next turn their attention to the jobs report for April, due out Friday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday cited a slowdown in hiring as among the reasons to think high interest rates are cooling demand. Those remarks put renewed emphasis on how labor-market dynamics are playing out.

"Powell's comments indicated that their bias is still to cut," said Leah Traub, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Lord Abbett. "What was a little surprising to me is that they are now trying to shift to the labor market to support that cut."

Among individual stocks Thursday, Qualcomm shares jumped 9.7% after the chip company reported sales and profit that beat expectations. Moderna shares climbed 12.7% after it reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and signaled confidence that sales will pick up later this year.

Etsy shares fell to their lowest level in four years, tumbling 15.1%, after the e-commerce retailer posted lower-than-expected gross merchandise sales for the first quarter.

Paramount shares jumped 13% after reports that Sony Pictures and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management submitted a $26 billion all-cash offer for the company.