The Australian sharemarket is set for a modest advance after news the EU and the US had agreed to accelerate trade talks helped boost European shares in the first session of the week.
ASX futures are pointing up 20 points, or 0.2 per cent. Futures traders took cues from Europe while the UK and US stock markets were shut for a holiday.
In Europe, stocks erased Friday’s losses after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen secured a one-month reprieve from US President Donald Trump, who on Friday threatened the EU with a 50 per cent tariff hit to press for trade concessions.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed up 1 per cent, paced by industrial goods and autos, while US futures contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq showed a similar advance. Bitcoin rallied amid the risk-on mood, topping $US109,000 and nearing its all-time high.
In commodities, iron ore hit a two-week low of $US96.95 a tonne overnight amid rising concern that crude steel production cuts in China will curtail demand for the metal.
Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-to-edge-higher-european-stocks-rise-20250527-p5m2f5