Australian shares are set for a positive start to the week on Monday, 9 November, as Wall Street steadied after artificial intelligence stocks bounced back from a two-day sell-off. Futures pointed to a rise of about 20 points at the open for the S&P/ASX 200.

The Australian sharemarket is following a steadier lead from the United States, where the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent in the latest session to close at 7,376.86, up 23.13 points. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.1 per cent to 24,579.42, adding 264.43 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 237 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 51,285.73. The Australian dollar was trading lower at US68.68 cents in early Monday trade in Sydney.

AI names led the recovery on Wall Street. Nvidia gave the S&P 500 its biggest lift, rising 2.8 per cent after drops of 9.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent in the two sessions before. AI-linked stocks had tumbled on worries that Democratic gains in statehouses, particularly in Texas, could slow data centre construction, with voters wary of AI and of higher power bills caused by data centres.

Borrowing costs added to the pressure on the sector. Worries that building more AI data centres may slow because money has become expensive to borrow were already rattling the industry, and critics had also said AI share prices were in a bubble. Political power in Washington remains split between a Democratic Congress and a White House run by President Donald Trump, a Republican who retains the power to veto, which could limit federal efforts to rein in the AI industry.

Companies in the sector still reported strong growth. IREN, which delivers data centres, computing power and software for AI training, beat analyst expectations for the latest quarter. Its stock jumped 20 per cent, and it announced two new contracts signed since the quarter ended. Lam Research climbed 8.2 per cent after announcing a programme to return up to $25 billion to investors through share buybacks. CoreWeave rose 6.3 per cent and Micron Technology gained 5.1 per cent.

The picture beyond AI was more mixed, with more stocks falling than rising in the S&P 500. Axon Enterprise tumbled 18.2 per cent after the Taser maker posted weaker quarterly results than analysts expected. It also announced a $1.2 billion investment in drone technology company Skydio. Charter Communications sank 6.2 per cent after reporting a quarterly loss when analysts had expected a profit.

Even after the week's swings, the S&P 500 sits only 5.7 per cent below its all-time high, set last month. The steadiness halted a worldwide tumble: indexes had dropped 6 per cent in Tokyo and in Seoul after the earlier US plunge, and Germany's DAX lost 1.9 per cent despite European markets having fewer AI-linked stocks.

At home, the S&P/ASX 200 ended Friday down 0.5 per cent at 9,020.8 points. Energy shares could have a positive session after oil prices edged higher on Friday night, with West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.35 per cent to US$90.83 a barrel and Brent crude slightly higher at US$98.32 a barrel. Gold shares may start more quietly after gold futures fell 0.95 per cent to US$4,074.90 an ounce, driven by strong US payrolls data that boosted the US dollar and bond yields.

ANZ Group Holdings will also be in focus on Monday when the big four bank releases its full-year 2026 results. The market consensus estimate is for a cash profit of around $7.5 billion, underpinning earnings per share of $2.57 and a dividend of $1.66 per share for the 12 months.