Australian shares are poised to open higher on Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as the bond market steadied, even as oil prices extended their rally amid intensifying fighting between the United States and Iran.
ASX 200 futures were up 38 points, or 0.4%, at 8,979.
In the U.S. overnight, major benchmarks finished higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each gained 0.5%.
"The war is continuing longer than anyone hoped, and when it ends, energy will cool and inflation won't be as much of an issue," Lauren Cassidy, chief investment officer at Founders 100 ETF in Dallas, was quoted as saying in a Reuters story.
"At the same time, we just had a record earnings season, with wonderful fundamentals being driven by the accelerating adoption of AI."
"AI adoption is still in the very early innings and it's just now accelerating," Cassidy added. "We could see exponential growth from here."
The Australian market finished Wednesday's session lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling 88.3 points, or 1%, to 8,978.4, as seven of the 11 sectors ended in negative territory.
On the bond markets, 10-year and two-year yields fell 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, to 5.17% and 4.805%.
