Australia

The Australian share market is set to dip at the open after Wall Street stumbled into its Thanksgiving halt, while European stocks traded lower and oil prices also fell.

The SPI200 futures contract was down 30 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 5667.0, at 8am Sydney time, pointing to a drop for the ASX at the open.

Yesterday, broad-based gains saw the market close in the black for the first time this week.

The Aussie dollar is steady, buying US72.54 cents, up from US72.52 cents yesterday.

A pre-holiday rebound in US energy and technology shares had lifted Wall Street, but the market faltered toward the session’s end as Apple shares surrendered gains ahead of Thanksgiving.

Out today: Commonwealth Bank Flash Australia Composite PMI; Victoria state election held tomorrow.

ASIA

China's main stock indexes ended lower on Thursday, extending a lengthy slump tied to the US-China trade war, and few analysts expect either the dispute or market weakness to end any time soon.

The Shanghai Composite index as it closed 0.2 per cent lower. The index has fallen more than 20 per cent so far this year.

The blue-chip CSI300 index finished down 0.4 per cent, weighed down by financial and real estate firms that had risen in recent sessions on hopes that official growth-boosting measures will cushion the impact of the trade war and slowing economic growth.

In Hong Kong, gains by Tencent Holdings helped the Hang Seng index to end 0.2 per cent higher, but the China Enterprises Index finished down 0.4 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei rose on Thursday in choppy trade with gains for defensive stocks and companies linked to inbound tourism demand after data showed a bounce in visitors in October.

The Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent to 21,646.55, yet it barely moved for the week. The broader Topix advanced 0.8 per cent to 1628.96, though trade was thin, with only 1.2 billion shares changing hands, the lowest figure in a month.

Japanese markets will be closed on Friday due to a national holiday.

EUROPE

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the day down 0.7 per cent, with most sectors trading in the red following gains in the previous session that helped the pan-European index bounce from near two-year lows.

Uncertainty over Italian politics, Brexit and worries over slowing economic and earnings growth have discouraged investors from taking risks as central banks take steps to end years of easy monetary policy.

Miners were the biggest fallers, down 1.9 per cent as copper prices edged lower on worries over slowing global economic growth, hurt by an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Britain's Centrica slid 9.2 per cent to lead losers on the STOXX 600 after its trading update. Analysts at Jefferies said even though the energy company affirmed some of its debt and dividend targets for the year, its earnings per share guidance was 10 per cent below consensus.

Britain and the European Union agreed a draft text setting out a close post-Brexit relationship, officials said, though wrangles over fish and the future of Gibraltar must still be settled before leaders meet on Sunday.

NORTH AMERICA

Oil prices dipped overnight after US inventories swelled to their highest level since December adding to concerns about a global crude glut but OPEC talk of an output cut limited losses.

Benchmark Brent fell 96 cents, last trading at $US62.52 a barrel, edging back from a more than $US1 drop in early European trading.

US WTI fell more than a $US1 before easing back to settle down 78 cents at $US53.85.

Trading was thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

 

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Morningstar with AAP, Reuters

Lex Hall is content editor, Morningstar Australia

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