What you need2know

SPI futures up 3pts or 0.1% to 5360 on Saturday morning

AUD at 72.22 US cents. 79.52 Japanese yen, 64.36 Euro cents and 49.76 British pence

On Wall St, Dow +0.4%, S&P 500 +0.6%, Nasdaq +1.2%

In Europe, Stoxx 50 +1.5%, FTSE +1.7%, CAC +1.7%, DAX +1.2%

In London, BHP +0.4%, Rio +0.7%

Spot gold -0.2% to $US1251.98 an ounce

Brent crude -0.1% to $US48.75 a barrel

Iron ore +2.7pc to $US54.89 a tonne on Friday

What's on today

Local data: None

Overseas data: Japan April trade balance; Euro Markit May manufacturing PMI, Markit May services PMI, Euro May consumer confidence; US Markit May manufacturing PMI

Fed speakers: James Bullard, Patrick Harker

Currencies

The US dollar posted its biggest three-week rally since November as traders weighed the possibility of tighter monetary policy in the US. The move was also spurred by Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterating that he's ready to add to stimulus if necessary.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US currency versus 10 major counterparts, gained 0.8 per cent last week, adding to the 2.3 per cent advance in the previous two weeks. The dollar rose 0.1 per cent to 110.11 yen Friday and was little changed at $US1.1218 per euro.

The pound declined for the first time in five days versus the greenback and slid from a three-month high against the euro. The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $US1.4495. It stilled gained 0.9 per cent last week, the biggest weekly gain since April 29.

Commodities

Ore with 62 per cent content rose 2.7 per cent to $US54.89 a tonne on Friday, according to Metal Bulletin. Prices have tumbled 22 per cent since peaking at more than $US70 a ton in April, paring the gain so far in 2016 to 26 per cent.

Crude oil declined 41 US cents to settle at $US47.75 in New York, capping a weekly advance of about 3.3 per cent. Prices were boosted last week as data showed US output slid to the lowest since September 2014 and wildfires in Canada expanded. "Unless there is a clear new fundamental reason to buy oil, I think $US50 is a hard psychological level to break through,"  said Jonathan Barratt, the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney.

Deere & Co, the world's biggest agricultural equipment manufacturer, cut its fiscal full-year earnings outlook as lower commodity prices hurt farmers' income and a glut of unsold machinery continues to pile up at dealerships.

United States

US stocks rose, with the S&P 500 rebounding from a seven-week low, led by a rally in technology shares amid ebbing anxiety over the potential for higher interest rates as early as next month.

Applied Materials surged 14 per cent after forecasting sales that may beat analysts' estimates, spurring gains among tech companies. Chipmakers jumped the most since January, with Intel rising 1.8 per cent. Apple increased 1.1 per cent to its first weekly advance in five. Equities trimmed gains in afternoon trading as banks lost momentum after Treasuries erased losses, sending yields lower for a second day.

The S&P 500 added 0.6 per cent to 2052.24 at 4pm in New York, halting a weekly losing streak at three and regaining its advance for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.2 per cent. The Dow Jones closed up 0.4 per cent higher, paced by DuPont, American Express and Intel.

"Eventually, markets will realise that the world is not falling apart," said Ben Kumar, an investment manager at Seven Investment Management LLP in London. "The Fed's message for global growth is quite positive. We saw Wal-Mart's decent results, which suggest that US consumers are still turning up at stores. There is always something to panic about, but underneath, things are kind of OK."

Europe

European shares rose the most in a month. Novartis climbed 1.8 per cent after the UK affirmed its backing of a cancer treatment, helping a measure of health companies post the best performance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. UniCredit added 7.6 per cent, leading gains among banks, after people familiar with the matter said it may sell a stake in its online broker FinecoBank and review holdings in Poland and Turkey to raise capital.

Ladbrokes jumped 6.5 per cent after the UK's competition watchdog said the company and Coral Group may have to sell as many as 400 shops to get approval for a merger that would create Britain's biggest betting-shop chain. The number was well short of some of the most pessimistic predictions.

Britain's top share index ended sharply higher on Friday, with bottling company Coca-Cola HBC rallying on the prospects of a margin recovery.

Coca-Cola HBC jumped 6.4 per cent after Citigroup raised its rating on the stock to "buy" saying that concerns, which included a potential naira devaluation and rising world sugar prices, were priced in and the company had the potential for a visible margin recovery opportunity. "With the shares trading at a five-year peak discount to peers ... we feel these concerns are priced in, providing a good opportunity to buy into improving fundamentals," Citi analysts said in a note

What happened Friday

Australian shares recorded their sixth straight week of gains, even as American shares fell to their lowest since March on growing concerns that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as June.

Although falling short of last week's highs above 5400, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index nevertheless managed to increase 0.5 per cent on Friday and 0.4 per cent for the week to close at 5351.3. The broader All Ordinaries lifted 0.5 per cent on Friday and 0.3 per cent over the week to close at 5415.2.

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