Australian shares look set for a positive start on Monday after US President Donald Trump promised Australia would be exempt from its planned tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Planned talks between President Trump and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un are also expected to lift the mood for investors.
"When you look at the overall situation it does look very positive for our start on Monday," Commonwealth Securities chief economist told AAP on Sunday.
Australian share futures were trading 57 points higher on Sunday, after the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 20.3 points, or 0.34 per cent at 5,963.2 points on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 440.53 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 25,335.74 heading into the weekend.
The S&P 500 index also gained 47.6 points, or 1.74 per cent, to 2,786.57 and the Nasdaq composite index added 132.86 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 7,560.81.
"(Tariff) exemptions are starting to flow through, even for Australia," Mr James said.
"It's not the worse case scenario a lot of people were looking at."
President Trump tweeted on Saturday that he would not impose steel and aluminium tariffs on "the great nation of Australia".
Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo insisted on Sunday there was no implicit understanding about a quid pro linking tariffs and future military promises.
Among this week's key economic data housing finance for January is due on Tuesday, alongside weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence figures and the monthly National Australia Bank business survey.
The monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment sentient is due on Wednesday.
There are also several speeches in Sydney by Reserve Bank top officials over the week - assistant governor (financial system) Michele Bullock on Tuesday, assistant governor (financial markets) Christopher Kent on Wednesday and deputy governor Guy Debelle on Friday.
