The Australian share market is trading fairly flat, as a rebound in tech stocks is not enough to lift the major indices.

Despite futures trade pointing to an early fall, the benchmark ASX 200 share index initially gained slightly before trading down 0.1 per cent at 6,755 by 1:50pm AEST.

The broader All Ordinaries index, including many smaller firms, was up 0.1 per cent to 6,979.

Local gains were mainly being led by tech and biotech stocks, with the ASX 200 tech sub-index up 1.9 per cent.

Some of the best gains included Telix Pharmaceuticals (+16.4pc), Link (+12.3pc), Novonix (+9pc), BrainChip (+6.1pc) and Zip (+6pc).

The big iron ore miners were some of the larger losers, amid a billion dollar tax settlement with the ATO for Rio Tinto (-3.2pc), and reports that China's steelmakers are close to forming an iron ore purchasing cartel.

BHP (1.9pc) and Fortescue (-2.5pc) joined Rio in the red.

Netflix result boosts Wall St

The local market's tech focused performance mirrored Wall Street.

While the industrial-focused Dow Jones index gained just 0.2 per cent to 31,875, and the broader S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent to 3,960, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index jumped 1.6 per cent to 11,898 points.

Netflix was a key driver of the gains, with its shares surging 7.3 per cent to $US216.44 ($314.26) after it reported better-than-expected earnings and lost less subscribers than many had feared.

Its results helped boost sentiment for other tech giants, with Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft all rising.

Tesla also reported better than expected results, but that was after trade had closed on the main markets.

One measure of profit per share was $US2.27, versus analyst forecasts centring on $US1.81.

The electric car maker has dramatically increased prices on many of its models to offset rising costs, amid supply chain shortages, surging lithium and other raw material prices, and its large investments in new factories.

Tesla also revealed the company had sold off around three-quarters of its bitcoin holdings to cash, although Elon Musk told investors that "this should not be taken as some verdict on bitcoin", but was rather a move to increase the company's financial reserves to cope with Chinese COVID lockdowns that may continue to affect its key factories there.

Bitcoin prices fell on the news, with the cryptocurrency trading at $US22,785 just after 2:00pm AEST.

Refinitiv data shows more than three-quarters of S&P 500 companies that have reported profit results so far have beaten analyst expectations.

"It seems like we have gotten some positive surprises, even if those positive surprises were just really that companies didn't do as badly as what was probably originally feared," Brian Jacobsen from Allspring Global Investments told Reuters.

ECB meets tonight to raise interest rates

Across the Atlantic, European shares generally eased slightly as traders waited to see if Russia fully resumed the supply of gas through the Nordstream 1 pipeline, which was affected by maintenance that was due to finish today.

Traders are also now anticipating that the European Central Bank may increase interest rates by more than 25 basis points when it starts its rates-hike cycle at tonight's meeting.

Market pricing implies a 40-basis-point rise to its benchmark deposit facility rate, which is currently -0.5 per cent.

"We look for a 50bps rise to zero in the deposit rate and guidance to repeat a 50bps hike in September with the Bank aiming to front-load rate hikes ahead of weaker conditions later in 2022 and into 2023, when room to move may be more limited," wrote NAB's Rodrigo Catril.

However, there is fresh uncertainty in Europe, not only about how much gas supply Russia might choose to withhold, but also whether the Italian government might collapse.

"A collapse of the coalition government would send Italy into months of political uncertainty with a new election coming sometime during the fall," Mr Catril noted.

Italy's share market underperformed the rest of Europe, dropping 1.6 per cent overnight.