The Australian share market is set to open higher as the second week of earnings season rolls on.
Wall Street closed at fresh records (once again), and is providing a strong lead for the local bourse.
Among the companies reporting their earnings today are Transurban, James Hardie Industries and IOOF Holdings.
In economic news, NAB will release its monthly business survey later this morning.
"Not only have business conditions been pushing higher to June, but business confidence has also risen to above average levels," said Ray Attrill, NAB's head of foreign exchange strategy.
"The NAB Business Survey has also been reporting a broader-based uplift in business activity, with trend increases in trading, profitability and employment.
"The latter has been pointing to continued rises in prospective employment," he said — noting that the Bureau of Statistics' labour force report is due out next week.
Also out today is China's trade report for July.
"Our team expects China's export growth to soften to 9.1 per cent year-over-year in July, but still expect the trade surplus to have widened to $US45.6 billion," said Deutsche Bank economist Phil Odonaghoe.
The iron ore spot price also lifted, driven by surging steel and iron ore futures in China.
What happened on Wall St?
Over in New York, Wall Street started the week on a solid note — the Dow Jones hit its ninth consecutive record close, while the S&P 500 also reached an all-time high.
The last time the Dow had such a long winning streak was in February (when it boasted 12 record closes in a row).
One of the stocks which contributed the most gains was aviation company Boeing, which climbed 1.23 per cent to $US240.23.
As for the S&P, this is its first fresh record close since July 26.
Nearly all sectors were in positive territory. The standout sectors were technology and telecommunications, while energy and financials closed in the red.
The energy sector was dragged down by a drop in oil prices overnight, on the back of a rebound in production from Libya's largest oil field, as well as concerns about higher output from OPEC and US producers.
