SYDNEY, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares looked set to spiral lower on Tuesday, tracking a sell-off in global equities, after plunging to a one-month low in the previous session and tumbling commodities prices were likely to add to pressure on resources shares.
Investors are bracing for a U.S. interest-rate hike and fretting about a persistent slowdown in China after disappointing trade figures there at the weekend. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Z2MT
Share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 1 percent, a 52-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark dropped 1.8 percent to 5,119.5 points on Monday.
The index has fallen in seven out of the last 10 sessions. It is down 5 percent so far this year.
On Tuesday, shareholders in port and rail giant Asciano AIO.AX vote on a $6.5 billion takeover by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management.
The vote comes before the Australian antitrust regulator gives its ruling on the deal, and after another Australian port company, Qube QUB.AX , bought a 20-percent blocking stake in Asciano. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1330H4
Australian business confidence and mortage lending data is due out at 11:30 a.m. (0030 GMT).
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 slipped 0.3 percent.
For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on AU/CALL
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, please double click on PRESS/AUB