What you need2know:

• SPI futures up 11 pts at 5361

• AUD at 85.28 US cents, 100.51 Japanese yen, 68.36 Euro cents and 54.27 British pence

• S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow flat, Nasdaq +0.1%

• In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.5%, FTSE flat, CAC +0.3%, DAX +0.8%

• Spot gold up 0.1% to $US1197.96 an ounce

• Iron ore slips 1.2% to $US69.58 per metric tonne

• Brent oil down 1.5% to $US78.51 per barrel

What’s on today

Australia construction work done September, BREE resources and energy major projects; China Westpac-MNI consumer sentiment; US durable goods, new home sales.

Stocks to watch

Medibank - day two.

Iron ore producers - after the price of iron ore fell below the $US70 mark. BHP Billiton's shares fell 1.7pc in London; Rio Tinto's edged up 0.3pc.

Software developer WiseTech Global is preparing to appoint at least two investment banks for a $1 billion initial public offering in 2015, according to the Street Talk column in the Australian Financial Review.

Commonwealth Bank has an “overweight” recommendation on Kathmandu Holdings and a price target of $3.60 up from $3.55 a share after the outdoor clothing company provided a trading update for the 16 weeks to November 16, 2014, as well as qualitative 1H15 earnings guidance.

Currencies

The Australian dollar has shed more than 1 per cent in overnight trading in New York, hammered by RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe’s comments on its value and another slide in the price of iron ore. The Aussie tumbled to as low as US85.14¢. In comparison, the currency was trading at US86.83¢ at Monday’s local close.

The 18-nation euro strengthened after failing to break through the $US1.24 level, pushing the shared currency up from almost a two-year low reached as the European Central Bank considers increased monetary stimulus.

China’s central bank will wait until fourth-quarter economic data is out and monitor US and Japanese monetary policy before considering any more rate cuts or easing, a central bank adviser said on Tuesday.

Commodities

Ore with 62 per cent content delivered to Qingdao fell 1.2 per cent to $US69.58 a dry metric ton, the lowest since June 2009, data from Metal Bulletin Ltd showed. Prices are heading for a 13 per cent loss this month, the most since May.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed down 1 per cent at $US6606 a tonne, undermined by data showing US consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since June.

Macquarie Group hired metals traders Ivan Petev and William Gayner from JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the bank expands its commodity business, Bloomberg reported.

United States

The Commerce Department raised its estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product to a 3.9 per cent annual pace from the 3.5 per cent rate reported last month. The reading was also stronger than the 3.3 per cent rate that had been expected.

In contrast, the Conference Board, a private sector industry group, said its US November consumer confidence index dropped to 88.7 versus forecasts for a reading of 96.

The S&P is on track to rise for the 13th time in the past 15 sessions, and all three major indexes are coming off five-week streaks of gains. Both the Dow and S&P are at record levels, and the S&P is up more than 13 per cent from an intraday low in mid-October.

Apple, already the world’s largest company by market capitalisation, hit a new record value: $US700 billion. Shares of the iPhone maker rose 0.8 per cent to $US119.59 at 9.35am in New York, giving it a valuation of more than $US701 billion, a milestone that no other US company has ever reached.

Europe

European stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday as euro zone banking shares climbed on mounting expectation of more stimulus from the European Central Bank.

Shares in Deutsche Bank, ING and BNP Paribas rose 1.4-1.9 per cent on Tuesday, making them the top three risers among European blue chips.

"Stocks in Europe have been on a rip since Mario Draghi twice mentioned the prospects of further monetary easing in the eurozone last week and continued higher today" with the latest German data, said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC.

German data showed a rise in private consumption helped its economy, Europe's biggest, avoid recession last quarter, while France saw a better-than-expected rise in business sentiment

What happened yesterday

The local sharemarket on Tuesday shed nearly all of the previous session’s gains, with falls across the board, but Medibank retail investors were able to book a modest profit on the health insurer’s first day as a listed company.

The All Ordinaries closed down 0.52 per cent to 5320.90 while the S&P/ASX200 ended down 0.50 per cent to 5334.80.

The talk of the stockmarket was Medibank Private, Australia’s biggest initial public offering since Telstra.