Local shares are poised to open lower, reflecting a negative lead from Wall Street where both disappointing corporate results and data hit sentiment.
What you need2know:
• SPI futures down 17pts at 5474
• AUD at 79.28 US cents, 93.46 Japanese yen, 69.82 Euro cents and 52.16 British pence
• In late trade, S&P 500 -0.8%, Dow -1.1%, Nasdaq -1.1%
• In Europe, Stoxx 50 -1.2%, FTSE -0.6%, CAC -1.1%, DAX -1.6%
• Spot gold up $1% to $US1293.72 an ounce
• Iron slipped 9.1% to $US63.50 per metric tonne
• Brent oil up 2.6% to $US49.43 per barrel
What's on today
Australia December-quarter CPI, Australia December skilled vacancies, Oz Minerals quarterly update, US December durable goods, US December new home sales, US January consumer confidence, US Federal Reserve meeting.
Stocks to watch
Allan Gray portfolio manager Simon Mawhinney thinks now is the time to be selectively investing in oil and iron ore companies as prices plunge, bankruptcies loom and a weaker Australian dollar offers little support.
Deutsche Bank has a "buy" recommendation on APA Group and a $7.95 target price. "APA is our top pick in the utility sector. The company is highly leveraged to our preferred theme, gas transportation," the investment bank said in a broker's note.
The following stocks will trade ex dividend today: Cape Lambert Resources, OGI Group.
Currencies
Foreign-exchange trading in the US and UK rose to records in October, reports from the nations' central banks show, as American monetary policy diverged from that in Europe and Japan, boosting volatility.
Average daily currency turnover in North America was $US1.1 trillion, the highest since the survey began in 2004, compared with $US811.1 billion recorded in April and $US816.3 billion in October 2013, the Federal Reserve-sponsored Foreign Exchange Committee said in a statement on its website.
JPMorgan Chase netted $US250 million to $US300 million on the day of the Swiss National Bank's surprise decision to scrap the franc ceiling of 1.20 against the euro, Bloomberg reported.
China's yuan rose by the most in four weeks as the central bank strengthened the reference rate after the currency's biggest two-day slide since 2008.
Commodities
IFreeport-McMoRan plans to reduce capital spending this year by about $US1.5 billion to about $US6 billion and is seeking funding for its natural oil and gas projects as the metals and energy producer responds to sharp drops in copper and oil prices.
US coal miner Peabody Energy, which has mining operations in the United States and Australia, forecast US coal demand to decline 50-60 million tons during the year because of low natural gas prices. The US mining operations sold 191.4 million tons in 2014.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed down 2.8 per cent at $US5425 a tonne. The metal is down 14 per cent so far in January, extending a combined 20 per cent loss over the past two years.
"The fall in copper is probably overdone," said Wood Mackenzie analyst Paul Benjamin. "We're expecting a modest surplus this year of 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes. Any number of surprises can wipe that out - China's state grid could buy more copper than expected, its State Reserve Bureau might decide it's a good time to buy."
United States
US stocks fell sharply, with Microsoft and Caterpillar shares tumbling after quarterly results, while an unexpected decline in durable goods orders also weighed on sentiment.
Microsoft fell 10 per cent to $US42.27 the day after the Dow component reported results. The main engine of its historic earnings power, selling Windows and Office to big businesses, is showing signs of waning.
Shares of construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar fell 7.5 per cent to $US79.52 after its net profit came in below market expectations, reflecting oil's rout and weaker copper and iron ore prices too.
Apple is scheduled to report its results after the closing bell.
Europe
Renewed concern over Greece and weak results at companies such as Siemens and Philips put an end to a winning run for European stock markets on Tuesday.
Greek shares underperformed for the second day in a row. The benchmark Athens ATG equity index closed down 3.7 per cent and Greece's borrowing costs rose. National Bank of Greece fell 11.8 per cent, while Bank of Piraeus also fell 12 per cent.
In contrast, the Swiss stock market rose 1.3 per cent after the Swiss franc sank below levels last seen when authorities removed a cap on the franc's value against the euro earlier this month. Traders speculated the Swiss National Bank was intervening to weaken the currency.
What happened yesterday
Gains among the big four banks, Telstra and healthcare companies offset a slide in the resources sector to push the local share market to its highest in nearly three months.
The S&P/ASX 200 gained 45.4 points, or 0.8pc, to 5547.2 on Tuesday.
