Australian shares are poised to leap 1.2 per cent higher to start Friday’s trading session, catching a bullish wave that lifted the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 by 3.4 per cent.

ASX 200 futures were up 99 points or 1.1 per cent to 9010. The S&P 500 rallied 1.7 per cent at the close in New York, paced by a 5.2 per cent surge in the information technology sector.

Microsoft soared 15.5 per cent, adding $US450 billion to its market value, after the company reported stellar quarterly results. It also revived semiconductors – the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was 8.2 per cent higher. Among the Nasdaq 100’s biggest advancers were Nebius, up 27.3 per cent; SanDisk, up 26 per cent; and CoreWeave, up 21.5 per cent.

Meta Platforms shed 8 per cent after reporting results that left unanswered questions about the potential return on the hundreds of billions Mark Zuckerberg is spending to seek an edge in artificial intelligence.

After Thursday’s closing bell, Amazon rose more than 8 per cent as its forecasts exceeded expectations. Apple slumped 4 per cent as its quarterly revenue failed to significantly exceed Wall Street expectations.

Market highlights

ASX 200 futures are pointing up 99 points or 1.1 per cent to 9010.
All US prices near 5pm New York time (7am AEST):

AUD +1.1% to US70.30¢Bitcoin +2.3% to $US64,734On Wall St: Dow +1.2% S&P +1.7% Nasdaq +2.8%VIX -3.57 to 17.09Gold +1% to $US4106.97 an ounceBrent oil -1.4% to $US89.43 a barrelIron ore -2.5% to $US95.70 a tonne10-year yield: US 4.67% Australia 4.99%Today’s agenda

Fortescue is set to release its June quarter production report on Friday morning, with fiscal year results due on August 24.

June private sector credit is scheduled for release at 11.30am AEST. Earlier, ANZ will release July NZ consumer confidence data.

Overseas, Bank of Japan policymakers are set to meet. Separately, Japan will release its June jobless rate, industrial production and retail sales data. At 11.30am AEST, China is set to release July manufacturing and services PMIs.

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