Local Markets Commentary

Local shares are set to open flat as Wall Street stumbled with tech shares extending this week’s retreat.

Yesterday a two-day rally on the ASX came to an abrupt end on Thursday, as a sharp fall in oil prices and a US rate hike sent shares retracing some of their recent gains.

This was in spite of positive local data showing the unemployment rate had unexpectedly dropped to its lowest level in more than four years. The national jobless figure is 5.5% as employers added four times as many workers in May as was forecast.

In commodities trade, iron ore was 1.5% higher, while continued doubts about OPEC's ability to implement agreed production cuts and high global inventories pressured oil prices.

Gold prices swung from gains to losses yesterday. Soft US CPI and retail sales figures sent the yellow metal higher, but the Fed’s rate rise reversed that.

The $A is US758¢ though it briefly spiked above US76¢.

Overseas Market Commentary

World stock indexes fell overnight as technology shares extended their selloff, while the prospect of tighter monetary policy in the US and Britain lifted the US dollar.

Wall Street’s mood soured further in overnight trade following reports that US President Trump is being personally targeted in obstruction of justice investigation.

There was a broad decline in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ was down 0.7%, pulled down by heavyweights including Apple and Google parent company Alphabet. The tech index is down about 4 per cent in the past week as investors continued a recent move away from the year's best-performing sector.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.