SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares are expected to open lower Friday after the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and bleak US economic data triggered a sharp fall on Wall Street overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 192.08 points or 1.4 percent to 13,359.61 after Bhutto's assassination and weaker-than-expected durable goods orders and jobless claims figures sent jitters through financial markets.
The S&P 500 index fell 21.39 points or 1.4 percent to 1,476.3 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 47.62 points or 1.8 percent to 2,676.79.
The extent of the fall means the Australian market is certain to open lower, said Michael Heffernan, a senior client advisor at Austock Securities.
'We are going to open down given the fact that the US is down almost 1.5 percent. Whether we are going to stay down there is another question,' Heffernan said.
'Given the extent of the decline in the US I think you would say its going to finish down today but probably not that much.'
The S&P/ASX 200 March futures contract ended its overnight session down 81 points at 6,298.
On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 27.3 points or 0.4 percent to 6,350.9 and the All Ordinaries ended up 38.4 points or 0.6 percent at 6,426.4.
In London, the FTSE 100 firmed 18.5 points or 0.3 percent to 6,497.8 as Bhutto's death reignited geopolitical concerns and sent oil prices to a fresh 1-month high, fuelling gains by oil heavyweights.
Light, sweet crude oil for February delivery added 65 US cents to settle at 96.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as 97.79 US dollars, while an ounce of gold for February delivery rose 2.30 dollars to 831.80 dollars.
On the London Metals Exchange, nickel, copper and zinc rose, while lead and tin prices fell.
The death of Bhutto, while a tragic event, will have a short-term impact on financial and commodities markets, Heffernan said.
'Pakistan is not exactly a place that's been noted for its stability in recent times. It's a tragedy but these sort of things are not totally unexpected,' he said.
(1 US dollar = 1.14 Australian dollars)
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