Australian sharemarket preview

THE Australian market looks set to open lower, after sharp declines on Wall Street. At 6.49am (AEST) today, the December share price index futures contract was down 58 points at 4,4005. In economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases job vacancies data for August. No major equities news is expected today. In Australia, the market yesterday rose almost one per cent in the second day of gains, as markets recovered from last week's massive losses on hopes of a solution to Europe's debt crisis. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 34.9 points, or 0.87 per cent, to close at 4039.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 34.2 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4097.7.