Australian market set to open higher

THE Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street finished with decisive gains on modestly higher US retail sales.

THE Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street finished with decisive gains on modestly higher US retail sales ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later this week.

At 0645 AEST on Wednesday, the September share price index futures contract was up 60 points at 5,066.

In economic news on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor for financial markets Guy Debelle speaks in Sydney, while Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer is slated to speak at the Trans Tasman Business Circle lunch, also in Sydney. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Indexes of Economic Activity is due out.

In equities news, vitamin company Vitaco makes its ASX debut. In Australia, the market on Tuesday fell steeply on uncertainty surrounding global growth and the prospect of an interest rate rise in the US.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 78.1 points, or 1.53 per cent, at 5,018.4 points. The broader All Ordinaries index was down 73.9 points, or 1.44 per cent, at 5,046.5 points.