It’s a public holiday in NSW, which could mean a subdued day for the ASX.
ASX 200 futures are 0.3% higher at 8,215 points.
A positive start would follow a positive close for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which marked their fourth consecutive week of gains.
US sharemarkets
Advanced on Friday, buoyed by a stronger-than-expected employment report that eased concerns over the US economy's potential weakness.
Financials led the S&P 500, surging 1.6% and closing at a record high.
Major banks, including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), saw gains of more than 3% each. Megacap stocks Nvidia, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) also rose between 1.7% and 3.9%.
Spirit Airlines shares plummeted 24.6% following reports of bankruptcy talks with bondholders, while other airline stocks rallied. United Airlines climbed 6.5%.
Reports that Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) was in negotiations to acquire lithium miner Arcadium Lithium for between US$4 billion and US$6 billion boosted Albemarle shares by 8.3%.
The Dow Jones index rose 341 points or 0.8% to a record close, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9%. The Nasdaq added 219 points, climbing 1.2%. Over the week, the Dow increased by 0.1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%.
European sharemarkets
Closed mostly higher after the strong US jobs report.
- Banks led the gains, rising 1.8%, while energy stocks added 1.6%, supported by elevated crude oil prices.
- The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.3%, though it fell 1.8% over the week.
- In London, the FTSE 100 index remained largely unchanged but dipped 0.5% for the week.
Currencies and commodities
Currencies
Currencies weakened against the US dollar during European and US trading sessions.
- The Euro dropped from US$1.1036 to US$1.0951, ending near US$1.0975 at the close of US markets.
- The Australian dollar declined from US$0.6845 to US$0.6784, closing near US$0.6795.
- The Japanese yen fell from 145.96 yen per US dollar to JPY148.99, settling around JPY148.70 at the close.
Commodities
Global oil prices rose on Friday due to heightened concerns about a potential regional conflict in the Middle East. However, gains were limited after US President Joe Biden advised Israel against targeting Iranian oil facilities.
- Brent crude increased by US$0.43, or 0.6%, to US$78.05 per barrel.
- US Nymex crude rose US$0.67, or 0.9%, to US$74.38 per barrel.
- Over the week, Brent gained 8.4%, its highest since January 2023, while Nymex surged 9.1%, the largest increase since March 2023.
Base metal prices advanced on Friday.
- Copper futures rose 0.5% following stronger-than-expected US job growth in September, which underscored economic resilience.
- Aluminium futures jumped 1.3%. For the week, copper declined 0.4%, while aluminium edged up 0.2%.
- Gold futures dropped US$11.40, or 0.4%, to US$2,667.80 per ounce on Friday as a robust US jobs report reduced the likelihood of an aggressive interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. Spot gold traded near US$2,652 per ounce at the close, remaining flat for the week.
- Iron ore futures climbed by US$0.53, or 0.5%, to US$108.84 per tonne as traders weighed the impact of Chinese stimulus measures on steel demand. The commodity surged 17.1% over the week.
What about small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries finished Friday 0.53% down to 3,102.40. Over the five days, it lost 1.16%.
It has been a steady start to the morning on the small cap news front and you can read about the following and more throughout the day.