Australia is positioned to rebound from a snapped three-day winning streak when share trading resumes today, with prices likely to follow the example set overnight in the United States.
At 9:40 am AEDT (10 pm GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 March share price index (SPI) contract was 29 points or 0.34% higher at 8,346.00.
A positive environment was created on Wall Street where the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to close at a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 0.9% and the S&P 500 added 0.5%.
Sentiment in the U.S. has been boosted by actions and comments by new President Donald Trump, including his call for lower interest and oil prices in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The S&P/ASX 200 had closed 0.61% lower at 8,378.70 on Thursday, ending three consecutive days of benchmark index increases, as seven of the 11 sectors finished higher, lead by information technology.
In ASX-listed news, shares in Myer today traded ex a 2.5 cent dividend, having risen six cents, or 6.67%, on Thursday following news that the retailer’s purchase of Premier Investments’ apparel brands had been approved by shareholders.
The Australian market is closed on Monday for the Australia Day public holiday.
On fixed interest markets, yields on Australian Treasury bonds followed the pattern of their US equivalents, with 10-year paper rising 0.11% to 4.451% and two-year paper dropping 0.10% to 3.934%.
