The Australian share market is expected to bounce back today, with ASX futures pointing higher. This follows the US stock market displaying a broad sea of green overnight. All three major US indexes climbed higher on Wall Street last night, with the S&P 500 increasing 1.05%.
At the time of writing, S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) futures are indicating a 0.79% jump to 7,283 points at the open.
US stock market overnight
After a disappointing session on Monday night, the US stock market regained some optimism to finish higher last night.
Taking a closer look at the indices, the tech-focused Nasdaq composite rose 1.25% as the sector performed strongly. Some of the standout companies included Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), rising 5.2%, 2%, and 3.6% respectively.
Interestingly, despite a cataclysmic outage across all of its social media platforms, shares in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) added 2.1% overnight.
Contemporaneously, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.92% — reflecting the broad positive sentiment displayed by investors.
Furthermore, US-listed energy companies gained a boost as energy prices continue to surge. According to Market Index, crude oil lifted 0.22% to US$79.10 a barrel overnight, hitting a new 52-week high. In fact, The Wall Street Journal cites this as being the highest oil price since 31 October 2014. As a result, US-listed energy shares assisted in lifting the US stock market higher overnight.
What's ahead for the ASX today?
Aussie investors will be anticipating a green day on the ASX today after a 0.44% fall yesterday. Namely, energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be in focus as the sector continues its seemingly unrelenting rise.
In other news, The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) will no doubt be attracting attention today as it announces it will defend against the legal proceedings filed by Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH). The legal firm alleges that the infant formula company did not adequately account for impacts to its FY2021 guidance.
Finally, investors will be watching closely to see whether the ASX moves in lockstep with the US stock market today.
