Morning traders.Market wrap: The Australian stock market is set...

Morning traders.

Market wrap: The Australian stock market is set to open lower after wild swings on Wall Street ahead of a slew of economic data. But gains for key resources should limit losses.

U.S. markets slumped early but closed well off their lows after dipping in and out of positive territory. The S&P 500 fell 0.33%, the Dow lost 0.31% and the Nasdaq 0.08%.

Stocks opened the session with a plunge after the Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index showed a surprising decline, raising fears about what tonight's economic reports will reveal. Analysts had expected the index to improve. But again investors bought the dip, driving indexes to gains by lunchtime, only for caution to set in late in the session.

Nonetheless, this was the best quarter for American equity indexes since 1998. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index have both put on 15% since the start of July.

In other economic news, the U.S. economy contracted at a 0.7% rate in the second quarter, better than the 1% rate that was expected. Also, private-sector employers this month shed the fewest jobs in a month since July 2008.

European markets were dragged down by the initial fall on Wall Street. The FTSE lost 0.5%, the CAC 0.49% and the DAX 0.67%.

There were significant gains for key resources as the US dollar slipped. Crude oil futures rallied 5.8% to $70.35, erasing monthly losses after a surprise fall in stockpiles. Gold futures surged back over $1,000 per ounce. The spot price was recently $1,006.90, up around 1.5%.

Copper hit a one-week high as investors closed positions ahead of the end of the quarter and Chinese holidays. In London, copper surged 3.34%, aluminium 2.11%, lead 2.15%, nickel 3.82%, tin 2.78% and zinc 3.56%.

Futures traders expect weakness on Wall Street to outweigh strength in resources at the opening bell today. With 30 minutes left to trade, the SPI futures index was 10 points lower at 4737.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

RESOURCES: It's not hard to see where the strength will be in our market today. Significant rallies in oil, gold and base metals should translate into gaps up this morning for many resource stocks. It will be worth sifting through our miners for the most oversold ahead of the open.

ECONOMIC NEWS: It's a massive night tonight in the US, with reports due on personal income, consumer spending, weekly jobless claims, construction spending, home sales and manufacturing.

Good luck to all.