Share prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) are expected to open higher on Thursday on the back of a better performance in the United States overnight as concerns about a trade war eased.
At 9:40 am AEDT (10:40 pm GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 March share price index (SPI) contract was trading 59 points or 0.7% higher at 8,376.00.
Two of the three main United States stock indices finished higher on Wednesday as investors brushed off trade tensions with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.7 and the S&P 500 adding 0.4%, but the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%.
The S&P/ASX 200 had closed or 0.5% higher at 8,416.9 on Wednesday with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in the black.
Chief CommSec Economist Ryan Felsman said mining stocks were likely to remain strong with gold producers in particularly expected to be well supported but iron ore and energy companies may not fare as well on the back of lower iron ore and oil prices.
He said banking and technology companies may also perform slightly better.
“Overall it should be a positive day although it could be mixed in the commodities space,” Felsman said.
Digital property company REA Group’s (ASX: REA) shares will be closely watched after it issued better than expected half year results.
On the bond markets, 10-year and two-year Australian Treasury yields were up 0.14% and 0.19% to 4.31% and 3.747%, respectively.
