MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to renew their slide on Thursday following a deepening slump on Wall Street, after a brief respite on the back of China's better-than-expected trade data.
Local share price index futures YAPcm1 dropped 1.8 percent to 4,846.0, a large 141.4-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark rose 1.26 percent on Wednesday, snapping a nine-session losing streak.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 1 percent to 6,091.8 in early trade.
Conglomerate Wesfarmers WES.AX will be in the frame after it confirmed it was in talks to buy the UK's second-biggest home improvement and garden retailer, Homebase, from Home Retail HOME.L for 340 million pounds ($490 million). Iron AGO.AX may also attract attention after the Australian Financial Review said commodities and mining giant Glencore GLEN.L had bought out one of Atlas's major debtholders.
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