Australian shares are expected to open lower on Friday, reflecting losses among major U.S. indices overnight as concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East sapped risk appetite.
Traders are also awaiting September’s US jobs report, which could influence expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in November.
By 7:00 am AEST (9:00 pm GMT) ASX futures were down 27 points, or 0.3%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq edged down by 0.04%.
Oil prices surged overnight after US President Joe Biden confirmed discussions about a potential Israeli strike on Iranian oil assets.
Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate saw their highest intraday prices in a month, with futures settling over 5% higher.
Ahead in the session, market participants will be monitoring fresh home loans data from the ABS ahead of the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for release at 10:30 pm AEST.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates lifted to 4-week highs of 4.039% and 3.647%, respectively.