SYDNEY, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to start lower on Wednesday, breaking two sessions of strong gains, after U.S. stocks resumed their downtrend.
On Wall Street, investors looked past a U.S. government pledge to pour $250 billion into major banks, and instead focused on the dismal outlook for earnings and the economy.
During the session, technology and consumer companies led the slide, while financial shares rose. Shares in PepsiCo had their worst day since the 1987 stock market crash, after delivering a disappointing outlook.
In Australia, December share index futures fell 99.0 points to 4,305.0, a 30.2 point discount to the 4,335.2 close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index on Tuesday, when the market gained 3.7 percent.
On the domestic agenda, global miner Rio Tinto is due to release its third-quarter production report, along with its subsidiary Coal & Allied.
Plasma products group CSL and Origin Energy both hold their annual meetings on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index fell 0.7 percent to 2,928.4 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2054 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 998.01 -0.53% -5.340 USD/JPY 101.98 -0.02% -0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 4.0831 -
0.203 SPOT GOLD 834.2 0.41% 3.400 US CRUDE 79.02 -2.67% -2.170 DOW JONES 9310.99 -0.82% -76.62 ASIA ADRS 105.86 -0.74% -0.79
* Market ends lower on recession, profit worry
* Oil falls 3 pct on demand, recession concerns
* Gold retreats to end lower after bank rescue plan
* Copper boosted by bailout plans, worries linger
For a summary of business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on.
(Reporting by Mette Fraende) . ng COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
On Wall Street, investors looked past a U.S. government pledge to pour $250 billion into major banks, and instead focused on the dismal outlook for earnings and the economy.
During the session, technology and consumer companies led the slide, while financial shares rose. Shares in PepsiCo had their worst day since the 1987 stock market crash, after delivering a disappointing outlook.
In Australia, December share index futures fell 99.0 points to 4,305.0, a 30.2 point discount to the 4,335.2 close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index on Tuesday, when the market gained 3.7 percent.
On the domestic agenda, global miner Rio Tinto is due to release its third-quarter production report, along with its subsidiary Coal & Allied.
Plasma products group CSL and Origin Energy both hold their annual meetings on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index fell 0.7 percent to 2,928.4 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2054 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 998.01 -0.53% -5.340 USD/JPY 101.98 -0.02% -0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 4.0831 -
0.203 SPOT GOLD 834.2 0.41% 3.400 US CRUDE 79.02 -2.67% -2.170 DOW JONES 9310.99 -0.82% -76.62 ASIA ADRS 105.86 -0.74% -0.79
* Market ends lower on recession, profit worry
* Oil falls 3 pct on demand, recession concerns
* Gold retreats to end lower after bank rescue plan
* Copper boosted by bailout plans, worries linger
For a summary of business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on.
(Reporting by Mette Fraende) . ng COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.