Company Interview / the open: ASX to rise after record highs on Wall St

The Australian share market is set for a modestly higher opening with ASX futures up 6 points. This comes as global equity markets pushed further into record territory overnight with investors buoyed by signs of cooling trade tensions between the US and China. 

Wall Street's major indices posted record closing highs again led by the megacap tech stocks. Nvidia shares gained on news that it will build seven supercomputers for the US Department of Energy, and said the company has $500 billion in bookings for its AI chips. Meanwhile, Apple shares hit $US4 trillion in market value for the first time, making the iPhone maker only the third public company in history to reach the milestone.

President Trump has welcomed newly installed Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi's plans to accelerate a military buildup, while also signing deals on trade and rare earths. And in the US, the weakening jobs market is expected to help push the case for an interest rate cut from the Fed when it delivers its policy decision tonight. 

The US dollar index is down slightly whilst the Australian dollar has climbed to US65.9 cents.