Australian shares are set to open lower this morning following the ANZAC Day break.
This comes ahead of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ CPI inflation report, due later this morning.
Overnight, the S&P and NASDAQ fell into the red. The New York Stock Exchange followed suit, down 1.5 per cent to 15,464.53.
The Aussie dollar lost over a per cent, buying 66 US cents and 53 British pence.
Iron ore was down nearly 2 per cent. Gold saw a marginal gain to just under US$2000 per ounce.
Back home, four federal Labor MPs have joined the call for the government to increase JobSeeker payments to $24 billion over four years.
The move came as the government hinted it may slightly increase the $50-a-day payment in the May 9 budget — but not to the levels demanded by the welfare sector.
Right now, a single person on JobSeeker can receive up to $346.50 a week, or $49.50 a day.
The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee labelled the current unemployment benefit as “seriously inadequate” and says lifting the daily rate to around $68 should be the government’s “first priority”.