ASX to rise as earning season sheds light on health of economy

The Australian sharemarket will open higher on Monday in a week that will give investors an insight into the financial performance of some of the ASX’s largest companies, from JB Hi-Fi to AGL Energy, Origin Energy and Telstra.

In Australia, futures on the S&P/ASX 200 pointed to a gain of 0.8 per cent or 59 points on Monday, after a rally of 1.3 per cent in the last session. Still, the local bourse was licking its wounds after fears the United States was sliding into recession triggered a sell-off, sending it 2 per cent lower in the biggest weekly decline since April.