On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index lifted 155.91 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 9505.96 points after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said prospects for global economic recovery appeared good, and a record lift in home sales in the US in July.

The blue-chip Dow Jones index had not finished above 9500 points since early November.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 18.76 points, or 1.86 per cent, to 1026.13 points, and the Nasdaq Composite index added 31.68 points, or 1.59 per cent, to 2020.90 points.

''After contracting sharply over the past year, economic activity appears to be levelling out, both in the United States and abroad, and the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good,'' Mr Bernanke told central bankers at a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last Friday.

Analysts said new data this week, including a second preliminary estimate of US gross domestic product for the second quarter on Thursday, would be critical in gauging market resilience.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the Australian sharemarket was likely to open higher today after investors took profits on Friday last week.

''We've certainly had a very good lead in from Wall Street; we've got gains in the gold price, oil and base metals prices; and more optimism about the US economy,'' Mr James said.

The local market could also be boosted if bargain-hunters start buying stocks after last week's pull-back. Mr James said company earnings results so far had been encouraging.

''Certainly, the analysts had been much too gloomy, and the companies have been very aggressive in terms of cutting costs and supporting the bottom line,'' Mr James said. On the Australian market on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 86.9 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 4290.6 points, and the broader All Ordinaries index dropped 85.7 points, or 1.95 per cent, to 4305.7 points as an across-the-board correction followed recent rallies.