Australian shares are set to build on a slightly firmer close in New York when stock exchange trading begins on Tuesday.
Futures transactions indicate the main market index will open 0.6% higher at 10 am AEST (12 pm GMT), outpacing the gains seen on Wall Street as investors look past trade developments until the second quarter earnings season starts on Tuesday.
At the time of writing the S&P/ASX 200 share price index (SPI) September contract trading was quoted 51 points higher than the previous settlement at 8,599 points, more than erasing the losses of the previous day.
The Australian Securities Exchange is taking its lead from the United States where the major stock indices ended marginally higher despite President Donald Trump continuing his threats of tariffs against trading partners.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, beating the 0.1% rise in the S&P 500 but falling short of the 0.3% increase in the Nasdaq Composite on Monday (Tuesday AEST).
Investors are waiting for U.S. companies to report their second-quarter earnings for the 2026 financial year from Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), starting with major Wall Street banks.
The Australian share market ended barely changed on Monday with the S&P/ASX 200 losing 0.1% to 8,570.4 as seven of the 11 sectors finished down.
Energy and gold stocks could defy the broader market trend today by falling in line with drops in the oil and gold prices overnight.
Some eyes will be on consumer confidence data, which is released today, along with an update from HUB24 (ASX: HUB) and shares of Metcash (ASX: MTS) which trades ex a 9.5 cent dividend.
In the Australian fixed interest markets, Australian Government bond rates yields fell with 10-year rates losing just 0.02% to 4.359% and two-year rates edging down 0.29% to 3.420%.
