Local shares are set to open flat, reflecting indecision on Wall Street, as investors await more data on the state of the US economy and the timing of a lift in interest rates.
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What you need2know
•SPI futures down 3pts to 5882
• AUD at 78.11 US cents, 93.20 Japanese yen, 71.85 Euro cents and 52.65 British pence
• In late trade, S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.2%
• In Europe, Stoxx 50 -0.4%, FTSE -1.4%, CAC -0.3%, DAX -0.2%
• Spot gold up $US7.67 or 0.6% to $US1203.14 an ounce
• Brent oil up $US2.53 or 4.5% to $US59.01 a barrel
• Iron ore slips 0.8% to $US55.36 per tonne
What's on today
US GDP (fourth quarter); China industrial profits (Feb); Japan jobless rate (Feb), overall household spending (Feb), CPI (Feb), retail sales (Feb).
Stocks to watch
Trading ex dividend today: Australia and International Holdings, Beadell Resources, CTI Logistics, Cabcharge, Chandler Macleod, Meridian Energy, Northern Star Resources, PPK Group, PS&C Ltd, Pioneer Credit Seek, Wilson HTM Investment Group.
UBS retains its "sell" on WorleyParsons considering it faces a "difficult market outlook" and it has a price target of $8.60 a share on the stock.
Macquarie Wealth Management has an "outperform" on Downer EDI and a $4.90 a share price target and it has an "underperform" on Monadelphous with a $9.25 target price.
Currencies
ANZ notes that while sterling looks cheap against the USD on a historical basis, the ECB's QE program has stoked an appreciation in sterling on a trade weighted basis.
In separate events in Frankfurt and Detroit, St. Louis Fed Ppresident James Bullard and Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart said US monetary policy might need to be adjusted in light of the economy's steady improvement since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Commodities
Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh will visit its $US6.5 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia on Sunday, two people familiar with the visit said, amid signs the country's new prime minister is keen to end disputes that have delayed an expansion project.
Oil rose to the highest in more than two weeks amid the violence in Yemen. Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour in a part of the world that supplies a third of the world's crude.
Gold extended its longest run of gains in more than two years amid the violence in Yemen, boosting demand for haven assets. Spot gold has advanced for seven straight sessions of gains, the longest streak since August 2012.
United States
US stocks were little changed on Thursday afternoon, well off session lows as tech shares recovered, with the S&P 500 struggling to avoid a fourth straight daily decline.
Semiconductor stocks were under pressure for a fourth straight session as SanDisk tumbled on a weak sales outlook.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 9000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000, the lowest level since mid-February, indicating continued strength in the labour market.
Other positive news on the economic front came in the form of the preliminary, or "flash," reading of the Purchasing Managers index for the services sector, which rose to its highest level since September, according to financial data firm Markit.
Europe
European stocks fell as the escalation of the crisis in Yemen and suspicions a Germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps unnerved investors.
Shares in London Stock Exchange shed 5.6 per cent after Borse Dubai, its biggest shareholder, sold its 17.4 per cent stake in the UK market operator.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday that record low interest rates were causing considerable problems in Germany but added that he was not criticising the European Central Bank.
What happened yesterday
Energy stocks were up, but the banks were dumped as concerns about the US economy resurfaced. The S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 94.2 points, or 1.58pc, to 5879.1 on Thursday.
