Australian sharemarket set to extend four-day upward streak

The Australian sharemarket is set to extend a four-day upward streak following gains in the US where companies reported stronger-than-expected profits.

Futures early on Wednesday were pointing to a lift in the market of 31 points, or 0.38 per cent, at the open after the local bourse pushed past the 8000-mark on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was stable fetching around US63.86¢.

US shares rose again Tuesday as stronger-than-expected profits piled higher for companies, though chief executives say they’re unsure how long that can last because of uncertainty around president Donald Trump’s trade war.

The S&P 500 was up 0.6 per cent extending its winning streak to a sixth day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6 per cent higher.

Honeywell International helped lead the market with a gain of 4.9 per cent after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Perhaps even more importantly for investors, it also raised its forecast for profit over the full year.

“Though we have not yet seen it in our results, we recognise we face an uncertain global demand environment for the remainder of 2025, and our company will work tirelessly, leveraging all tools available to us, to deliver for customers and shareholders,” chief executive Vimal Kapur said.

Sherwin-Williams rose 5.6 per cent for another one of the market’s bigger gains after the paint and coatings company also reported a better-than-expected profit.

Chief executive Heidi Petz said it expects to see softness from some of its customers continue to persist well into the second half of this year, but she also said that her company gets the majority of its raw materials from the regions where it manufactures. That could help blunt the possible blow from tariffs.

Other stocks weren’t as strong, even though their companies also reported stronger-than-expected profits.