Australian market set to open lower

THE Australian market looks set to open lower following falls on Wall Street and in commodity prices.

THE Australian market looks set to open lower following falls on Wall Street and in commodity prices. At 0648 AEDT on Friday, the March share price index futures contract was down 21 points at 5,034.

Wall Street stocks were down almost one per cent, dragged down by energy stocks, a day after the US Federal Reserve raised its interest rate for the first time in almost a decade.

Locally on Friday, in equities news, grains marketer Graincorp holds its annual general meeting.

In Australia, the market on Thursday closed higher with investors buoyed by the Fed’s vote of confidence in the world’s biggest economy.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 73.6 points, or 1.46 per cent, at 5,102 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index was up 71.9 points, or 1.42 per cent, at 5,150.6 points.