Shares surge on the cards

THE Australian sharemarket is expected to lift at the start of trade on Monday despite mixed overseas leads, with energy stocks likely to lead the gains in what is tipped to be a choppy session.

SPI futures are pointing to a 28 point, or 0.4 per cent, rise at the open, with banks and miners in focus as the week kicks off.

“It‘s going to be a bit of a choppy day,” CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said.

“The Australian sharemarket may edge higher, but with US financial markets closed on Monday it will probably provide a bit of a muted backdrop for our markets to begin with, and slightly lower trading volumes as well.

“We might see energy companies in particular doing quite well after oil prices climbed 2 per cent on Friday supported by supply constraints and worries about a Russian attack on Ukraine.”

Brent crude jumped $US1.59, or 1.9 per cent, to $US86.06 a barrel at the end of the week, while US Nymex added $US1.70, or 2.1 per cent, to reach $US83.82 a barrel.

It was the fourth straight weekly gain for oil prices, with Brent up $US4.31 a barrel, or 5.3 per cent, and the Nymex lifting $US4.92 a barrel, or 6.2 per cent.

Banks, meanwhile, could be under pressure after US financial stocks took a beating on Friday on underwhelming earnings numbers.

US sharemarkets ended the session mixed, with disappointing earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup weighing on the Dow Jones index.

At the close of trade, the Dow had tumbled 202 points, or 0.6 per cent, while the S&P 500 was up just 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq added 87 points or 0.6 per cent.

Looking ahead, it will be a big week for earnings and production numbers in the mining and energy sectors, Mr Felsman said.