Australian shares are expected to open higher today, buoyed by strong gains on Wall Street overnight, where all three major benchmarks renewed record highs.
ASX 200 futures were up 10 points, or 0.1%, by 8 am AEDT, suggesting a potential rebound after the market's slight decline from record highs on Wednesday.
Overnight, U.S. markets closed at fresh all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.7%, the S&P 500 advancing 0.6%, and the Nasdaq climbing 1.3%.
Technology was a major outperformer, with Alphabet added 1.8%, Microsoft gaining 1.4% and Amazon up 2.2%.
Bitcoin also showed renewed strength, climbing above $US99,000 (A$153,980). The cryptocurrency’s rally was partly attributed to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Paul Atkins, a known crypto advocate, as the next chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In corporate news, Rio Tinto outlined plans to increase its copper production by 18% in 2025 and by 40% by 2030, as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on Australian iron ore.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were at seven-week lows of 4.211% and 3.823%, respectively.