A surge in base metals prices has set the stage for a rally in the local sharemarket as investors renew their positions in mining company stocks.
What you need2know
SPI futures up 24pts to 5962 on Saturday morning
AUD at 78.24 US cents, 92.98 Japanese yen, 72.02 Euro cents and 51.57 British pence.
On Wall St, S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.7%
Record closing highs for both S&P 500, Nasdaq on Friday
In Europe, Stoxx 50 +0.4%, FTSE +0.2%, CAC +0.4%, DAX +0.7%
Iron ore up 5.5% to $US57.81 per dry metric ton on Friday
LME copper up 1.5% at $US6030 a tonne on Friday
LME nickel up 3.9% to $US13,195 a tonne on Friday
Spot gold down $US14.97, or 1.3% to $US1179.00 an ounce on Friday
Brent crude up 43 US cents, or 0.7% to $US65.28 a barrel on Friday
What's on today
Germany import prices; US flash services PMI
Stocks to watch
Mining companies. In London on Friday, Rio Tinto +1.5%, BHP Billiton +2.1%
In Deutsche Bank's updated model portfolio: Flight Centre has been added in place of JB Hi-Fi, and REA Group replaces Bluescope Steel.
Citi Research has a "buy" on cleaning and catering contractor Spotless Group and a $2.40 a share price target after an unexpected announcement from SPO's CEO, Bruce Dixon, to retire on 31 December 2015.
Currencies
Volatility in the euro against the US dollar climbed for the first time in three days on Friday as Greece and its creditors struggled to make progress in debt negotiations. The common currency's two-week implied volatility, a measure of future price swings, climbed to 13.3%, exceeding this year's average.
US Treasuries rose the most in three weeks on Friday after orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell in March for a seventh month. That followed below-forecast results for payrolls, retail sales and housing starts last month, and comes before a gross- domestic-product report this week projected to verify the slowdown.
The US central bank's policymakers will meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, with a statement at the meeting's conclusion.
Commodities
Benchmark prices for iron ore have rebounded 13 per cent in April and are heading for the biggest monthly gain since 2012.
Copper inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses tumbled 9.8 per cent over the last week to 208,285 tonnes, their lowest since February. Copper stocks in LME rising for much of this year have steadied near 300,000 tonnes.
Oil prices diverged on Friday, with Brent hitting 4-1/2-month highs on continued fighting in Yemen as US crude fell on concerns of another upcoming stock build.
Gold hit its lowest level in more than a month on Friday, falling for the third straight week.
United States
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 chalked up record high closes on Friday, propelled by strong results from tech behemoths Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
Amazon surged 14.1% to a lifetime high after revenue beat estimates. Google ended 2.9% after reporting higher quarterly results while Microsoft jumped 10.5% after it topped estimates. Apple is set to report its results after the closing bell on Monday.
For the week, the S&P gained 1.8%, the Nasdaq gained 3.3% and the Dow added 1.4%.
Europe
European stock markets closed higher Friday on hopes embattled eurozone member Greece will take strides towards a debt deal to unlock bailout money.
Deutsche Bank will deconsolidate Postbank and reduce leverage in the securities unit, the Frankfurt-based company said in a statement Friday. Details of the strategy will be announced on Monday.
Shares in HSBC were up 2.86 per cent after the global banking giant launched a review into whether it should remain headquartered in Britain amid a tightening of regulation and higher tax burdens being forced on the country's banks.
What happened Friday
Australian shares recovered strongly on Friday to close up for the week as bulk commodity prices such as iron ore and oil rebounded. The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 88.5pts, or 1.51pc, to 5933.3.
