A public holiday for those in Vic and Tassie for Labour Day but trading is on as usual.
The Australian share market has closed higher as investors saw less of a chance of a global trade war after US President Donald Trump exempted Canada and Mexico from US steel and aluminium tariffs and suggested other allies, such as Australia, could also be exempt.
Phillip Capital senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said the Australian share market had reacted well to Mr Trump's less-hardline stance.
"Certainly the market believes there won't be a trade war, so it's saying we'll move on," Mr Heffernan said.
Mr Heffernan said that President Trump's surprise agreement to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has said he will suspend North Korea's testing of nuclear weapons, may also have helped boost sentiment.
"Clearly, the man (President Trump) has thrown down his trump card again and has varied it (the tariffs position) slightly, which went down alright," Mr Heffernan said.
"And it also looks like everything is all rosy in the garden in North Korea again, so that always helps the market."
Mr Heffernan said Investors are now awaiting the release of key US jobs figures very early on Saturday morning local time, which are hoped to shed more light on the pace of US Federal Reserve interest rate moves.
On the local bourse, among the big banks, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.9 per cent to $76.8, ANZ climbed 0.3 per cent to $28.43, Westpac added 0.3 per cent to $30.09, and National Australia Bank gained 0.7 per cent to $30.29.
The major miners retreated in the wake of lower iron ore prices.
BHP Billiton fell 1.7 per cent to $28.32, Rio Tinto lost 2.6 per cent to $73.80, and Fortescue Metals reversed 1.4 per cent to $4.75.
Copper miner Oz Minerals dropped 34 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to $9.33 after floating possible renewable energy investments in a bid to combat climbing electricity prices.
Myer descended two cents, or 4.4 per cent, to 43.5 cents after the ASX announced that the department store operator will drop out of the S&P/ASX200 index following a decline in the company's market value.
Meanwhile the Australian dollar is weaker against the US dollar as global commodity prices continue to ease.
At 1630 AEDT, the local currency was worth 77.93 US cents, down from 78.26 US cents on Thursday.
ON THE ASX AT 1630 AEDT:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 20.3 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 5,963.2 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 22.5 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 6,069.1 points
* The SPI200 futures contract was up 24 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,963 points
* National turnover was 2.2 billion securities traded worth $4.8 billion
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 77.95 US cents, from 78.26 on Thursday
* 83.13 Japanese yen, from 82.94 yen
* 63.3 euro cents, from 63.09 euro cents
* 56.46 British pence, from 56.31 pence
* 107.15 NZ cents, from 107.40 cents
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1,318.3 per fine ounce, from $US1,326.86 per fine ounce on Thursday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
* CGS 4.50 per cent April 2020, 2.0038pct, from 1.9914pct on Thursday
* CGS 4.75pct April 2027, 2.7351pct, from 2.7488pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* March 2018 10-year bond futures contract at 97.228 (implying a yield of 2.772pct), from 97.210 (2.790pct) on Thursday
* March 2018 3-year bond futures contract at 97.88 (2.12pct), from 97.895 (2.105pct).
(*Bond market closes taken at 1630 AEDT previous local session; currency closes taken from 1700 AEDT previous local session)
Australian shares look set for a positive start on Monday after US President Donald Trump promised Australia would be exempt from its planned tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Planned talks between President Trump and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un are also expected to lift the mood for investors.
"When you look at the overall situation it does look very positive for our start on Monday," Commonwealth Securities chief economist told AAP on Sunday.
Australian share futures were trading 57 points higher on Sunday, after the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 20.3 points, or 0.34 per cent at 5,963.2 points on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 440.53 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 25,335.74 heading into the weekend.
The S&P 500 index also gained 47.6 points, or 1.74 per cent, to 2,786.57 and the Nasdaq composite index added 132.86 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 7,560.81.
"(Tariff) exemptions are starting to flow through, even for Australia," Mr James said.
"It's not the worse case scenario a lot of people were looking at."
President Trump tweeted on Saturday that he would not impose steel and aluminium tariffs on "the great nation of Australia".
Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo insisted on Sunday there was no implicit understanding about a quid pro linking tariffs and future military promises.
Among this week's key economic data housing finance for January is due on Tuesday, alongside weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence figures and the monthly National Australia Bank business survey.
The monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment sentient is due on Wednesday.
There are also several speeches in Sydney by Reserve Bank top officials over the week - assistant governor (financial system) Michele Bullock on Tuesday, assistant governor (financial markets) Christopher Kent on Wednesday and deputy governor Guy Debelle on Friday.
To celebrate the bull market’s ninth birthday on Friday, the three major U.S. stock indexes climbed almost 2 percent and the Nasdaq closed at a record high, as February’s jobs report assuaged fears of inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes.
A month ago, the market had been spooked by wage growth that fueled inflation fears, leading to a spike in volatility and a stock market correction. That sentiment has reversed over recent weeks with the market gradually nudging higher.
The bull market, which began on March 9, 2009, is the second longest on record, leading to questions about how much longer it can last.
Along with the jobs data, stocks were supported by easing fears of trade wars and signs of a thaw in nuclear tensions with North Korea after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to meet the country’s leader.
Inflationary fears dissipated on Friday after U.S. Labor Department data showed nonfarm payrolls jumped by 313,000 jobs last month, while average hourly earnings rose only 0.1 percent compared with a 0.3 percent rise in January.
“If we can continue like that - keep the participation increasing and keep wages steady - that’s going to be a positive scenario so the market doesn’t get overly worried about inflation running away,” said Catherine Avery, President of Catherine Avery Investment Management in Greenwich, Connecticut.
But investors will be watching closely to see if data from one month becomes a trend, Avery said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 440.53 points, or 1.77 percent, to end at 25,335.74, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 47.6 points, or 1.74 percent, to 2,786.57 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 132.86 points, or 1.79 percent, to 7,560.81.
The S&P spiked higher ahead of the close around the time the Wall Street Journal issued a report that Trump’s lawyers are seeking to use an interview with the president as leverage to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The story cited an unnamed person familiar with the discussions.
“The market is being driven by a very strong jobs report and lack of wage inflation. The Goldilocks economy reappears. But anything that accelerates the (Russia probe) and removes some uncertainty is good. The financial markets really dislike uncertainty,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
While the Dow ended 4.8 percent below January’s record high, it was 8.5 percent above its February lows. The S&P closed 3 percent below its January record high but 10 percent above last month’s lows.
For the week the S&P rose 3.5 percent while the Dow gained 3.25 percent and Nasdaq rose 4.2 percent.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.77-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.81-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 62 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 214 new highs and 16 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.82 billion shares, compared to the 7.47 billion average for the last 20 trading days.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
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