Australian market set to open lower

THE Australian market looks set to open lower after Wall Street ended a three day winning streak.

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 26: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 26, 2014 in New York City. Wall Street continued to set records on Tuesday with the S&P 500 closing above 2000 for the first time ever. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

THE Australian market looks set to open lower after Wall Street ended a three day winning streak.

At 0649 AEST on Friday, the September share price index futures contract was down three points at 5,606.

US stocks fell modestly, dragged down by rising fears about the Ukraine crisis that overshadowed encouraging US economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.44 points to 17,079.57, while the broad-based S&P 500 lost 3.38 points to 1,996.74.

Locally, company profit reporting season starts winding down. The highlights on Friday are supermarket giant Woolworths and Virgin Australia both announcing their full year profits.

Retailer Harvey Norman and maintenance and construction services Transfield are also releasing earnings reports.

In Australia, the market on Thursday closed lower as a drop in iron ore prices and more companies paying out dividends dragged on prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 26.8 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 5,624.4 points.

And the broader All Ordinaries index was down 27.6 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5,621.3 points.