Investing.com - Australian shares were trading higher on Friday as investors monitor quarterly results from industry giants Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META). Each company is expected to report their results after 8 am AEDT.
In a note, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) downplayed the concerns about contagion risk, attributing the reaction to unique factors connected to New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYSE:NYCB). The bank highlighted Citigroup, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Truist, Fifth Third, and US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) as offering attractive risk/reward prospects.
In other market news, Atlassian Corp Plc (NASDAQ:TEAM) is scheduled to report after the closing bell in New York, and shares of Euroz Hartleys Group Limited (ASX:EZL) and Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC) will both trade ex-dividend.
ASX 200 Futures were up by 24 points or 0.3% to 7571 as of 7:05 am AEDT, indicating a positive market opening. The Australian dollar saw a minor increase, and Bitcoin was up by 0.3% to $US43,031 as of 7:14 am AEDT.
Looking forward, markets are keenly anticipating the upcoming release of US jobs data for January, set for release at 12:30 am on Saturday. Traders are also adjusting their positions in anticipation of when the Fed might begin to cut rates, with some economists and strategists pushing their predictions back from March to May or even June.
Today's local agenda includes fourth quarter PPI and housing finance data for December, set to be released at 11:30 am.