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Another day of gains on Wall Street set up the Australian sharemarket to open in the black this morning, writes Kyle Rodda.

Australian GDP data was the highlight of the economic calendar yesterday. All-in-all, the data was of minimal impact, though it did for make big headlines: the growth rate came-in at 1.8 per cent on an annualised basis, as expected – the slowest rate of economic growth since the GFC.

A poor print undoubtedly, but one that had been priced into the market well in advance. Hence, markets were little moved upon the release. The ASX200 hardly budged. The Australian Dollar lifted very slightly, and temporarily tussled with the 0.7000 handle. And interest rate markets increased very marginally the probabilities of more RBA cuts by year-end.

Read the full 8@eight here.

Here are the overnight market highlights:

ASX futures up 19 points near 6.30am AEST
AUD -0.3% to 69.69 US cents
On Wall St: Dow +0.8% S&P 500 +0.8% Nasdaq +0.6%
In New York: BHP -1.2% Rio -2% Atlassian +3.1%
In Europe: Stoxx 50 +0.2% FTSE +0.1% CAC +0.5% DAX +0.1%
Spot gold +0.3% to $US1329.81 an ounce at 3.16pm New York
Brent crude -2.4% to $US60.47 a barrel
US oil -3.5% to $US51.59 a barrel
Iron ore n/a
Dalian iron ore -0.2% to 717 yuan
LME aluminium -0.8% to $US1771 a tonne
LME copper -1.5% to $US5792 a tonne
2-year yield: US 1.84% Australia 1.08%
5-year yield: US 1.86% Australia 1.14%
10-year yield: US 2.12% Australia 1.48% Germany -0.23%
10-year US/Australia yield gap as of 6am AEST: 64 basis points

Speaking exclusively with The Australian Financial Review, Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman has urged caution to banks looking to cut interest rates, saying they might be left without any "firepower" if an unforeseen geopolitical crisis emerges.

Mr Gorman indicated monetary policy was limited in its impact too.

James Eyers and Tony Boyd have the full story here.

Good morning and welcome to Markets Live for Thursday.

Your editor today is William McInnes.

Australian shares are poised to rise although energy is likely to be heavy following a big slump in oil prices overnight.

This blog is not intended as investment advice.