Oz Jobs Data, Origin Breach, Macquarie Vote In Focus

Australian shares are set to open higher, with futures pointing to a 0.6% gain that would add more than 50 points to the ASX 200. The early strength comes despite a mixed session on Wall Street, where Alphabet and Tesla each fell about 3% after their earnings calls.

The local market's focus turns to the June jobs report due at 11:30 a.m. AEST. Economists expect the unemployment rate to hold at 4.4%, with employment rising by 15,000. The data fits what the RBA has called a gradually cooling labour market.

Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) faces a second strike on its remuneration report at today's annual meeting. Last year, more than 25% of shareholders voted against the pay report, the first major investor revolt against the bank. A second strike would trigger a spill motion for the board.

Origin Energy (ASX: ORG) is investigating a potential security breach after a hacker claimed to have accessed personal details of about 2 million customers. The company said no credit card or banking data was stolen. The Australian reported it was shown a sample of 50 customer records including names, addresses, emails, dates of birth, phone numbers and billing history.

Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK) plans to pay its first fully franked dividend of 2 cents per share, drawing attention on the HotCopper forums.

Ceretas lists today under ticker "CTS" at 25 cents, seeking $8 million to fund research into a portable ultrasound platform for treating Alzheimer's disease. SaaS company Monvia is expected to list at lunchtime tomorrow.

The Australian dollar bought US 69.9 cents.

In commodities, Brent crude rose 4.4% to $95 a barrel. US natural gas futures were up at $2.93 per gigajoule. Iron ore fell 0.7% to $97.60 a tonne in Singapore.

The European Central Bank held rates steady, a decision that may draw some local reaction. Gold and base metals supported the ASX materials sector.