Australian shares look set to end a shortened week in the black with prices expected to edge up on Thursday as market concerns eased offshore.
A stronger finish on Wall Street gave Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) traders reasons to be positive as they marked up the ASX benchmark future contract ahead of the 10:00 am AEST (12:00 pm GMT Wednesday) opening on the last trading day before a long weekend.
At 9:40 am AEST (11:40 pm GMT Wednesday), the S&P/ASX 200 June share price index futures contract was quoted 13 points (0.16%) higher than the previous settlement at 7,946.
The ASX is closed on Friday for the Anzac Day public holiday, having been shut on Monday for Easter.
Traders were cheered by a bounce in United States stocks on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) as the United States administration turned down its anti-China trade rhetoric and President Donald Trump stepped back from threats to sack Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
In the wake of these developments, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 1.1%, the S&P 500 added 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite put on 2.5%.
This provides a supportive environment for the ASX S&P/ASX200 index, which ended 1.3% higher on Wednesday at 7,920.5 points.
In Australia, the market will digest detailed labour force and payroll jobs data and earnings results from Newmont and ResMed, according to CommSec.
Burrell Stockbroking wealth adviser Adam Dight said small capitalisation companies had stood out amid the global market turbulence in 2025 with a strong performance.
“The big highlight this year actually has been small caps because they're so insulated from what's happening overseas and they've got a domestic focus. The Aussie small caps are outperforming. So it's been a nice place to hide,” Dight said.
On fixed interest markets, Australian Government bond yields fell, with the 10-year rate dropping 0.256% to 4.244% and the two-year rate losing 0.45% to 3.348%.
