Australian shares are set to defy a stronger end to the week in New York by opening slightly lower on Monday.
The Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) 200 stock benchmark is poised to start just 0.08% under the previous close when trading resumes at 10 am AEDT (11 pm Sunday GMT).
This is the likely starting point based on ASX futures trading, which quoted the S&P / ASX 200 index December share price index contract just seven points below the previous settlement at 9,003 at the time of writing.
Stocks on Wall St finished stronger on Friday (Saturday AEDT) amid signs of a reduction in trade tensions with China and easing concerns about regional bank credit losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all rose by 0.5% after President Donald Trump said his planned 100% tariff on Chinese imports would not be sustainable.
"The market doesn't really know what to take when Donald Trump speaks," Dakota Wealth Senior Portfolio Manager Robert Pavlik was quoted as saying in a Reuters article.
"There's just a lot of back-and-forth comments with regards to China and trade tariffs and pretty much everything else."
Quarterly results from regional U.S. banks lessened worries about credit risks, with prices bouncing back from a sell-off on Thursday.
The Australian market had slipped back on Friday from record highs with the S&P/ASX 200 Index shedding 0.8%.
Companies to watch today include Tabcorp (ASX: TAH), which holds its annual general meeting.
The Australian Government bond yield curve flattened as two-year rates rose 0.81% to 3.352% while 10-year rates dropped 1.68% to 4.163%, at the time of writing.
