Australian shares are expected to begin trading higher today despite a decline by their American counterparts in relatively light activity overnight.
At 9:41 am (AEDT) the December 2024 contract of the ASX share price (SPI) 200 index was quoted 21 points (0.24%) higher at 8,438.
In New York, the S&P 500 closed 0.4% lower as investors locked in profits following seven consecutive days of gains, the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.3%.
Wall Street trading was marked by low volumes ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday when markets will be closed.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 47.3 points or 0.6% to close at 8,406.7 on Wednesday with 10 out of 11 sectors showing gains.
The record high of 8,462.1 was set on Monday.
On the bond markets, Australian Government 10-year and 2-year yields were higher at 4.391% (up 0.008) and 3.980% (up 0.005) respectively.