KEY POINTS:
The Australian share market could be set for an 11th straight session of falls on Monday following a slip on Wall Street at the end of last week, amid worries a White House effort to boost the US economy may not prevent a recession.
Miner Rio Tinto Ltd may be in focus after its chief executive, Tom Albanese, left the door open to a sweetened takeover offer from BHP Billiton Ltd, telling Sky Television he did not rule out accepting an improved offer.
However, the wider resources sector could come under pressure. Base metal prices firmed on Friday, but analysts have warned investor interest in crude oil, copper and gold may slacken sharply this week on growing US recession fears.
Australia is one of the world's largest commodity producers, and investors are worried about the impact a US recession would have on demand for commodities.
All the major US stock indexes fell on Friday, closing out the worst week for the S&P 500 in five years, with financial firms again absorbing the brunt of the selling on concern over spreading subprime mortgage fallout.
Australian share price index futures slipped 75 points to 5,687.0, a 60.3 point discount to Friday's close of 5,747.3 in the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index.
The benchmark index on Friday notched its longest losing streak since its formation, and analysts say while there is scope for a bounce, caution is likely to prevail for some time as uncertainty about global financial health lingers.
Producer price data for the December quarter is released at 11.30 a.m. (0030 GMT), with analysts in a Reuters poll forecasting a 1.1 per cent rise for the quarter.
The data will give some clues about the crucial consumer price index, a key number in the central bank's interest rate thinking, which comes out on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark stock index broke a 12 day losing streak and opened marginally higher on Monday but then gave up early gains.
- REUTERS
