Australian share prices are expected to open barely changed on Monday when trading resumes at 10 am AEST (12 pm GMT Sunday) at the start of a crucial week for financial markets.
Futures trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) indicates the benchmark index will defy a higher close on Wall Street on Friday (Saturday AEST) to begin just five points below the previous settlement at 8626.00 points.
Positive company profit results and optimism about trade negotiations help to drive stock prices in New York higher on Friday as all three major United States indices closed the week with gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% while the S&P 500 added 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite put on 0.2% to finish at new highs.
“There’s increasing confidence that the economy won't be derailed by tariffs," GLOBALT Senior Portfolio Manager Thomas Martin was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
"In the meantime, companies are reporting good earnings, the economic numbers are coming in within the range and people want to own stocks. They don't want to miss out."
This week includes the 1 August deadline for new higher U.S. tariffs to begin unless new agreements are reached, while four of the so-called Magnificent Seven technology giants will report quarterly earnings: Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft.
The Australian market had closed down on Friday with the S&P/ASX 200 Index handing back 0.5% to finish at 8,666.9.
On the bond markets, the yield curve for Australian Government paper with 10-year rates rising 0.22% to 4.648% and two-year rates falling 0.52% to 3.413%.
