The Australian stock market opened lower following Wall Street's negative lead after the Federal Reserve said the US economy was growing only moderately and still needed support.
At the 1015 AEDT official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index lost 0.56 per cent to 5,400.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.5%, at 5,398.2 points.
In economic news on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia is due to release financial aggregates data for September while the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases trade price indexes and building approvals, both for September.
NAB is expected to release online retail sales index data.
In equities news, Origin Energy (ORG) is expected to release its first quarter production figures.
Boral (BLD), Flight Centre (FLT), Tabcorp Holdings (TAH), Tatts Group (TTS), Perpetual (PPT), Tassal (TGR), Platinum Asset Management (PTM), Federation Centres (FDC) and Specialty Fashion Group (SFH) have annual general meetings.
In Australia, the market on Wednesday edged higher as investors expected the US Federal Reserve to maintain its economic stimulus measures.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 15.4 points, or 0.28%, at 5,430.9.
The broader All Ordinaries index was up 14.7 points, or 0.27%, at 5,425.4.
