The Australian sharemarket is set to extend its positive start to the new calendar year by opening higher on Monday despite uncertainty created by United States military action in Venezuela.
An 0.12% rise in the ASX 200 index is in store, according to Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) futures trading which quoted the March share price index contract 11 points above the previous settlement at 8,718 points.
The upward trajectory was assisted by a higher close in stocks in the United States which snapped a four day losing steak by ending up on the first trading day of 2026.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices ended up as they were assisted by gains in chip makers Nvidia and Intel and by Boeing shares.
The Dow jumped 0.7% and S&P 500 rose 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite was broadly flat.
Charles Schwab Head of Trading & Derivatives Strategist Joe Mazzola said he market had a "buy the dip, sell the rip" mentality to exploit short-term volatility by timing entry and exit points.
"But I do think that investors might be a little bit more conscious about some of the valuations that they're paying for some of the AI plays," he was quoted saying in a Reuters article.
"At the same time when they do get the opportunity to buy in (during) a pull back, they just continue to do that. I don't see that stopping anytime so."
The Australian market had closed higher on Friday as uranium stocks climbed on the first trading day of 2026 with the ASX 200 ending up 0.2%.
Stocks in focus will include Coronado Global Resources (ASX: CRN) which briefly stopped mining at its Mammoth coal mine in Queensland after a worker died in an incident on Friday.
In fixed interest markets, Australian Government bond yields eased with two year rates dropping by 0.66% to 4.074% and 10 year rates losing 0.31% to 4.805%.
