Oct 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares are poised to inch down slightly on Thursday, with material stocks hurt by a slip in base metal prices.
The share price index futures YAPcm1 fell slightly at 0.034 percent, or 2 points to 5,868, a 22.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended flat at 0.02 percent on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.095 percent in early trade.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a summary of overnight action across global markets, see
AU/CALL For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, see
PRESS/AUB
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