Investing.com - Australian shares are set to rise on Friday, following a rally in New York, after the latest weekly jobless claims data alleviated concerns about the US economy falling into recession.
ASX 200 Futures were up 1.7% by 8:30 am AEST.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.8%, the S&P 500 climbed 2.3% to 5319.31, posting the largest rally since November 2022, while the NASDAQ Composite lifted 2.9%.
The VIX fell 4.06 points, or 14.6%, to 23.79. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) also saw a 6.1% increase, turning positive over the last five days, although it remains down 18% over the past month.
The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims fell by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ending August 3, marking the largest drop in approximately 11 months. This data helped ease fears about an imminent economic recession in the US.
Ahead in the session, local investors will be closely monitoring Chinese CPI set for release at 11:30 am AEST.
Among local company news, Qbe Insurance Group Ltd (ASX:QBE) reported that its after-tax profits for the half-year ending June 30 doubled to US802 million and declared a 24¢ interim dividend, up from 14¢ in the same period in 2023, thanks to lower catastrophe costs.
Meanwhile, News Corp (ASX:NWS) has announced that it has put Foxtel Group up for sale and has received “third-party interest”.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-year and 2-year rates were at 4.137% and 3.854%, respectively.