The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower on Monday despite modest gains in the United States on Friday.
At 8:30 am AEDT (9:30 pm GMT Sunday) the S&P/ASX 200 April share price index contract was 36 points (+0.55%) lower than the previous settlement at 7,927.
April 2025 became the next expiring contract when the March 2025 contract stopped trading on 20 March, the third Thursday of the contract month.
On Wall Street on Friday the main U.S. equities indices finished marginally in positive territory to post the first week of gains in five weeks, against a backdrop of uncertainty caused by concerns about a trade war and economic conditions.
However, investors were heartened by hints from President Donald Trump that the tariffs he has brought in may not be as challenging as some expected, with Trump saying they would have some "flexibility".
Last Friday in Australia the market ended the best week so far in 2025 and bounced off the lowest point in seven months with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.8% to ended at 7,932.1.
The major Australian economic news this week is likely to be the Australian Budget, which is due to be handed down on Tuesday night ahead of a national election due to be held by 17 May.
The S&P Global purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) are scheduled to be released while NRW Holdings and New Hope Corp shares trade ex-dividend, according to CommSec.
Other stocks to keep an eye on include Woolworths and Coles, which rallied on Friday in response to a report finding little evidence of price gouging in the supermarket sector.
On the fixed interest markets, the 10-year Australian Treasury bond yield rose 0.14% to 4.398% and the two-year yield declined 0.62% to 3.741%.
