Australian share prices are expected to open 0.3% lower on Friday as the reporting season shines a spotlight on company results and following a mixed night on Wall Street.
That was the drop indicated by futures trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) ahead of the start of trading at 10 am AEST (12 am GMT Thursday).
At the time of writing , the S&P/ASX 200 September share price index (SPI) contract was trading 25 points below the previous settlement at 8,757 points.
United States indices were mixed on Thursday, with Intel shares undermined by President Donald Trump demanding its CEO resign, and as investors learned about Trump’s choice for Federal Reserve Chair.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.51%, the S&P 500 eased by 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% on Thursday (Friday AEST).
The Australian share market had pushed back from record highs on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index losing just 0.1% to 8,831.4.
Financial services software provider Iress (ASX: IRE) will be watched closely after reports United States private equity giant Blackstone is considering a buyout at more than $10 per share.
Releasing results today are QBE Insurance (ASX: QBE), Block (ASX: SQ2), Avita Medical (ASX: AVH), Nick Scali (ASX: NCK) and Garda Property (ASX: GDF), according to CommSec.
On fixed interest markets, Australian Government 10-year bond yields rose 0.19% to 4.261% while two-year yields dropped 0.15% to 3.353%.