Australian sharemarket preview

THE Australian market looks set to open lower. At 6.21am (AEDT) today, the December share price index futures contract was down 51 points at 4180. In economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its building approvals for September data. In equities news, Westpac Banking Corporation full year results. In Australia, the market on yesterday fell 1.5 per cent, as weakness among the nation's major miners dragged the broader market lower on weaker Chinese manufacturing data and concerns about Europe. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 65.2 points, or 1.52 per cent, at 4232.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 63.3 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 4297.2.