A strong night on Wall Street has positioned Australian shares to open higher on Friday, but whether they reach a record high is far from certain.
The S&P/ASX 200 share price index June contract last traded 46 points or 0.53% above the previous settlement of 8,605 points, at the time of writing.
However it remains to be seen if the S&P/ASX 200 retests its record closing high of 8,592.1 set on Wednesday, having ended 0.3% lower at 8,565.1 on Thursday.
Supporting the ASX was a positive night on Wall Street where stock indices finished in the black, as a strong outlook from Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and encouraging inflation data offset worries about tensions in the Middle East and a drop in Boeing shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each gained 0.2% while the S&P 500 added 0.4%.
Oracle led technology stocks higher, surging 13.3% to record highs after upgrading its revenue growth forecast on the back of strong demand for its artificial intelligence-related services.
This offset weakness in Boeing (NYSE: BA), which dropped 4.8% after the crash of an Air India Dreamliner 787, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board.
President Donald Trump said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because it could be a "dangerous place" as tensions with Iran increased and officials from both countries prepared to meet on Sunday for more nuclear talks.
In company news, shares of Dyno Nobel (ASX: DNL) trade ex-dividend today.
In the fixed interest markets, the Australian Government bond yield flattened, with 10-year rates dropping by 0.07% to 4.171% and two-year rates rising by 0.06% to 3.277%.
