The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 1.6% for the week with a gain of 18 points, or 0.3%, to 7096.10 on Friday as US futures rise.
The e-commerce giant Amazon.com is poised to add nearly $US200bn in market value if the stock’s 14% gain in after-hours trading following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report holds to Friday’s close, reports Bloomberg. That what would be the biggest single-day gain in US stock market history coming just a day after Facebook parent Meta Platforms entered the other end of the record book with a $US251bn wipe-out.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2%, Japan’s markets are higher, while China’s indices remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Gold is heading for a weekly gain ahead of the US non-farm payrolls data on Friday, while WTI crude oil moved above $US91 a barrel and Brent was above $US92 on continued supply concerns and the Ukraine-Russia situation.
Australia’s Reserve Bank said in its Statement on Monetary Policy that inflation was likely to breach 3% for the first time since 2010.
The Aussie dollar is at US71.49c against the US dollar.
Bitcoin is at $US37,284.
Gold is at $US1807.22 an ounce.
Brent crude oil is trading around $US92.14 a barrel.
WTI crude oil is at $US91.22 a barrel.
