Australia's share market is set to open higher on Monday, as robust earnings from U.S. financial giants spurred a record-breaking rally on Wall Street last week.
S&P/ASX 200 futures were last up by 0.6% following a mixed performance last week, with losses in mining, consumer, and real estate sectors.
However, futures pricing for the ASX was finalised before China's Ministry of Finance dashed hopes for a large-scale stimulus package over the weekend.
While the Ministry did not specify the scale of the latest stimulus, it did commit to increasing government debt substantially to fund subsidies, replenish bank capital, and support the property market through a new bond-buying scheme.
Meanwhile, China's consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) both undershot forecasts, with the PPI contracting by 2.8% year-on-year - the weakest level since April - indicating continued deflationary pressures in the industrial sector.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, reaching a new all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 1% to fresh records.
However, the Nasdaq Composite lagged slightly, gaining just 0.3%, hampered by an 8.8% drop in Tesla shares after the electric vehicle maker unveiled its highly anticipated robotaxi, dubbed the “Cybercab".
The gains were led by financial stocks, with Wells Fargo jumping 5.6% following stronger-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by its venture-capital investments and increased fees from investment banking.
JPMorgan Chase also rallied 4.4% as it reported a less severe profit decline than anticipated, driven by continued stock buybacks and steady investor returns.
CEO Jamie Dimon noted that while the market appears "slightly inflated", the bank is maintaining a cautious pace in its buybacks.
Investment giant BlackRock saw a 3.6% rise in its shares after delivering better-than-expected profits, reporting a record $11.5 trillion in managed assets by the end of September.
Tesla’s sharp drop contrasted with gains for its potential rival, Uber Technologies, which surged 10.8%, and Lyft, up 9.6%, as both companies saw investor enthusiasm following Tesla's announcement.
Meanwhile, European automaker Stellantis saw its shares decline 2.8% after announcing leadership changes, including the timing of CEO Carlos Tavares' retirement, along with the departure of its CFO.
On the data front, U.S. producer prices rose 1.8% in September compared to the previous year, a slight improvement but not as much as economists had forecast.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year and 2-year rates were steady near 11-week highs of 4.251% and 3.846%, respectively.