Investing.com - The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) remained little changed at Friday's open, reflecting the subdued trading session on Wall Street, which saw the S&P 500 reach historic highs before losing momentum. The S&P 500 concluded slightly up by 0.06% at 4997.91, after touching the 5000.4 mark during the session.
ASX 200 Futures were flat as of 8 am AEDT, offsetting earlier minor losses.
Oil saw a surge above $US81 a barrel, triggered by algorithmic buying in markets following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a potential ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as reported by Bloomberg. Conversely, gold prices dipped slightly, while iron ore made gains. The yield on the US 10-year note marginally increased, and Bitcoin was trading above $US45,000.
Chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) saw a remarkable increase of more than 50%, following a surprisingly positive earnings forecast, indicating its successful expansion beyond smartphones. In contrast, PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Holdings saw a 10% drop after the company projected flat earnings for this year due to ongoing cost-cutting and operational streamlining measures.
Ahead in Friday's session, RBA Governor Michele Bullock is scheduled to testify before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics at 9.30 am, while Eurozone CPI data for January is set to be released at 6 pm.