Australian market set to open lower

THE Australian stock market looks set to open lower following sharp losses on Wall Street.

THE Australian stock market looks set to open lower following sharp losses on Wall Street.

At 0650 AEST on Wednesday, the June share price index futures contract was down 30 points at 5,748.

Wall Street stocks fell one per cent on a strengthening US dollar despite news of Charter Communication’s $US78.7 billion ($A100.6 billion) deal to buy Time Warner Cable.

Locally on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases construction work done for the March quarter and the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Indexes of Economic Activity are due out.

In Sydney, Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Philip Lowe gives a speech the Thomson Reuters’ Australian Regulatory Summit. And in equities news, the owner of Radio Rentals, Thorn Group releases its full year results, as recruitment firm Programmed Maintenance Services is also releasing full year earnings.

Companies holding their annual general meetings on Wednesday include Adelaide Brighton and Northern Iron.

In Australia, the market on Tuesday rose for a fourth straight session, its longest run of consecutive gains since early February. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 51.9 points, or 0.91 per cent, at 5,773.4 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index was up 50.5 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 5,770.4 points.