PERTH: The Australian market looks set to open flat after strong gains on Wall Street with improving economic data from the eurozone offsetting disappointing China data.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up one point at 5,265.
Chinese government data said manufacturing activity fell to the lowest level since August 2012.
Eurozone data showed that the purchasing managers index rose to 52.8 in November from 52.3, while unemployment data hit its lowest level in nearly four years in October.
Locally, in economic news on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens is slated to deliver a speech to an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) breakfast event in Perth.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases national accounts figures, including gross domestic product, for the September quarter.
In equities news, Collins Foods is expected to post half year results and TPG Telecom has its annual general meeting in Sydney. In Australia, the market on Tuesday made strong gains as investors took heart from economic data out of China and prices for gold, oil and copper lifted in Asia.
China’s private Caixin/Markit purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing indicated a contraction but it was not as bad as in the previous month.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 99.6 points, or 1.93 per cent, at 5,266.1 points.
The broader All Ordinaries index was up 94.4 points, or 1.81 per cent, at 5,312.6 points.
