Australian shares set to start flat after steady Wall St session

The news: The Australian sharemarket is likely to start almost steady, tracking an unremarkable session on Wall Street where investors remain cautious ahead of key economic data.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index edged 0.06% lower, the broader S&P 500 lost 0.13% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.12%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading just 2 points or 0.03% higher at 6958 points at 0700 AEST on Friday.

The context: Recent data has pointed to still-resilient labour market conditions, and investors are awaiting Friday's monthly US jobs report, the week's most important economic news that could help determine whether the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer. and further possible clues on the outlook for interest rates.