Australian market set to open lower

THE Australian market looks set to open sharply lower after Wall Street gave up early gains and fell into the red.

THE Australian market looks set to open sharply lower after Wall Street gave up early gains and fell into the red, and oil struggled to remain the $US30 mark.

At 0645 AEDT on Thursday, the share price index was down 111 points at 4,826.

In local economic news on Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases December’s labour force figures.

In equities news, online marketplace company connecting buyers and sellers, Alphatise, is expected to list on the ASX and Djerriwarrh is slated to post half year results.

Meanwhile, the first Dick Smith creditors meeting is on in Sydney.

In Australia, the market on Wednesday broke its eight-day losing streak thanks to better-than-expected Chinese trade figures. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 62.3 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 4,987.4 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index was up 59.4 points, or 1.19 per cent, at 5,041.6 points.