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THE Australian share market looks set to open sharply lower with Wall Street’s negative sentiment infecting local indexes. At 0700 AEDT on Friday, the share price futures index was down 31 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 6,012.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has crept a little higher against the US dollar, which has weakened on concern over a possible delay in planned US corporate tax cuts. The local currency was trading at 76.82 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Friday, from 76.79 on Thursday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

BEIJING — US President Donald Trump blamed past US administrations for the trade deficit with Beijing, and not the Chinese, as he praised President Xi Jinping while also urging him to contain North Korea’s nuclear threat.

DANANG — Talks on pushing ahead the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal without the United States reached a critical point on Thursday as ministers from the 11 countries discussed a proposed agreement in principle.

GENEVA — Indonesia has lost an appeal ruling at the World Trade Organisation in a dispute with New Zealand and the United States over its restrictions on imports of food and animal products including beef and poultry.

LONDON — A large long-term study on the use of the big-selling weedkiller glyphosate by agricultural workers in the United States has found no firm link between exposure to the pesticide and cancer, scientists said on Thursday.

LOS ANGELES — Following a severe backlash over the verification of a far-right extremist who organised the recent Neo-Nazi March in Charlottesville, Twitter announced on Thursday that it was suspending its verification program until further notice.

The Dollar Index Was High, Japan's Nikkei Dropped

The dollar index was up 0.1 percent from the earlier low. Investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year's U.S. presidential election are seen as potential roadblocks to President Donald Trump being able to implement his economic agenda. 

Speculative investors turned negative on the dollar last week for the first time in more than a year, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed earlier losses to edge up 0.3 percent. 

But Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.6 percent, pressured by a stronger yen. Australian shares retreated 0.7 percent and South Korea's KOSPI edged down 0.1 percent. 

Chinese bluechips closed up 0.4 percent and close to 18-month highs as institutional investors stepped up purchases of big companies' shares. 

Oil prices dipped, adding to Friday's 2.5 percent fall, before a meeting of OPEC nations and other producers. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 12 cents at $47.94 a barrel. 

Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other non-OPEC producers will meet in St Petersburg to review market conditions and examine any proposals related to their pact to cut output. 

Sources familiar with the talks said the meeting may recommend a conditional cap on production from Nigeria and Libya - two OPEC members so far exempt from output cuts - although some analysts were sceptical the group would make such a move. 

The relatively weak dollar helped push copper close to its highest since March. The metal last traded 0.1 percent lower on the day at $6,003 a tonne. 

Gold hit its highest in four weeks and last stood at $1,254 an ounce, down 0.1 percent on the day.

Shares set for lower open

THE Australian share market looks set to open lower after Wall Street dipped on Wednesday as a sharp drop in energy stocks offset gains in other sectors.

At 0725 AEDT on Thursday, the share price futures index was down five points at 5,742.

The ADP National Employment report showed the U.S. private sector added 298,000 jobs last month, well above expectations calling for a 190,000 increase. The robust data sets the stage for Friday’s non-farm payrolls report, which includes private and public sector jobs and is seen as a barometer of the U.S. economy.

With a small chance of a weak payrolls report, the U.S. Federal Reserve is more likely to raise rates at its meeting next week.

The energy sector, down 2.1 per cent, weighed as oil prices tumbled more than 5 per cent in the wake of a much stronger-than-expected rise in U.S. inventories. Locally, no major economic or equities news is expected on Thursday.

The Australian share market closed relatively steady on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected Chinese drove a recovery from early losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 dropped 1.7 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 5,759.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 2.4 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 5,799.5 points.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has slipped against its US counterpart, which lifted as strong US payrolls data underlined expectations of a lift in US interest rates.

The local currency was trading at 75.36 US cents at 0725 AEDT on Thursday, down from 75.95 US cents on Wednesday.