The Australian sharemarket is expected to edge up when trading resumes on Tuesday following the Easter long weekend with gains in New York overnight providing positive signals.
A rise of five points on the opening, which equates to just 0.05%, has been flagged by trading in the June futures contract of the ASX 200 share price index on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which was last quoted at 8,614 points.
United States stocks posted gains on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) amid a mixed array of reports about the direction of the United States war against Iran, with the three main benchmarks ending higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, the S&P 500 put on 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.
The market was assessing U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating threats against Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the Islamic Republic rejecting a ceasefire proposal in favour of a permanent end to the war.
"The reality is we're inching, hopefully, closer to some type of resolution," said Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick, as quoted in a Reuters story.
"Unfortunately, it's not going to be today. But I think investors are feeling like we're seeing more talking on each side."
The expected firm ASX start will not be enough to compensate for losses sustained on the final trading day before the Easter holidays last Thursday, when the ASX 200 Index dropped 92.3 points, or 1.1% to 8,579.5 points.
In fixed interest markets, yields on Australian Government bonds rose with two year rates up 0.66% to 4.741% and 10 year rates 0.62% higher at 5.041% at the time of writing.
