The Australian bourse is set to dive today after receiving negative leads from offshore trading overnight. Key market indices all plunged, while oil slid and only gold gained among key metals.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange this morning, the September share price index contract was 80 points lower at 4351 points. That echoes Wednesday's declines that slashed almost 2 per cent off the value of the major indices.

In economics news on Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to publish its labour force data for July. Analysts expect the rate will stay flat at 5.1 per cent with 20,000 new jobs created.

The Melbourne Institute's Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations is also due today. The institute, with Westpac, will also announce its Survey of Consumer Unemployment Expectations. Both reports are for August.

The Reserve Bank of Australia, meanwhile, releases credit and debit card transaction data for June.

Transurban Group, Qantas Airways, Austereo, Telstra, Australian Vintage, and Aquarius Platinum will declare their full-year results, while half-year data are due from Coca-Cola Amatil and STW Communications.

Myer reveals fourth-quarter and full-year sales results. Singapore Telecommunications, which owns Optus, issues first-quarter figures.

James Hardie Industries is slated to declare first quarter results and hold its annual general meeting in Sydney, while Foxtel releases full-year data.

Yesterday, the Australian share market joined a worldwide phenomenon, slumping the most in nine weeks, as fears about the global economy exceeded profit result from the Commonwealth Bank. Banks, miners and information stocks led the decline.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index finished 85.2 points or 1.9 per cent lower, at 4455.5 points. The broader All Ordinaries Index had slumped 83.3 points, or 1.8 per cent, to hit 4479.5 points.