ASX set to start lower The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower, weighed down by growing concerns about the larger impact of Cyprus's 10 billion euro bailout and losses on Wall Street. The SPI Futures index is down 12 points. What you need2know this Thursday morning: SPI Futures down 12 points AUD buying $US1.0447, 98.589 yen, 81.77 euro cents, 69.048 pence In the US, the Dow Jones index finished down 0.2% and the S&P500 slid 0.1% In Europe, the Eurostoxx fell 1.1%, FTSE100 dropped 0.2%, DAX slipped 1.2% and CAC40 lost 1% Gold is trading at $US1606.64, WTI oil is at $US96.51 In economics news on Thursday, data scheduled for release include TD Securities/Melbourne Institute inflation gauge for March and Australian Bureau of Statistics job vacancies for the three months to February. The Reserve Bank of Australia is due to release its financial aggregates for February. In equities news, surfwear retailer Billabong will reach its deadline to decide on two takeover bids. World stocks US stocks declined on Wednesday as tepid demand at an Italian debt auction stoked investor concerns about the financial stability of the euro zone. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 33.49 points, or 0.23 per cent to 14,526.16. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.89, or 0.06 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index eked out a gain of 4.04, or 0.12 per cent to 3,256.52. Britain's top shares closed lower in a choppy session on Wednesday, with Cypriot banks due to reopen on Thursday and fears growing that the euro zone is slipping back into crisis. London's blue chips closed down 11.81 points, or 0.2 per cent at 6,387.56, above the intraday low of 6,344.19 and bouncing off 6,380, its 3-month rising support level - one technical measure of support for a market that is trending up when viewed in the longer term. Japan's Nikkei average edged up in a choppy session on Wednesday as buyers of many shares no longer can get the current year's dividend, which offset a boost to risk appetites from Wall Street's data-led gains. The benchmark Nikkei closed 0.2 per cent higher at 12,493.79 after moving in and out positive territory throughout the session. The index is 1.2 per cent below a 4-1/2 year high of 12,650.26 struck last Thursday. Gold rebounded from earlier losses to above $US1,600 an ounce on Wednesday, as poor economic data in the eurozone added to worries over the debt crisis in Cyprus, triggering some demand for safe havens. Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $US1,602.96 an ounce, snapping three consecutive sessions of losses. It hit its weakest since March 15 at $US1,589.49 on Monday. Copper fell on Wednesday due to a stronger dollar and concerns over the euro zone, while data was mixed out of the United States, the world's largest economy. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 0.2 per cent lower at $US7,608 a tonne. Although copper has risen from seven-month lows below $US7,500 hit last week, it has failed to gather much steam. Brent crude futures traded near unchanged on Wednesday, while U.S. crude fell back as rising crude oil inventories in the United States and the stronger dollar weighed on oil prices. Brent May crude was unchanged at $US109.36 a barrel at 1606 GMT, after slipping to $US108.85 and having reached $US109.83, just 7 cents below the 200-day moving average. U.S. May crude was down 26 cents at $US96.08 a barrel, having traded from $US95.58 to $US96.27. BusinessDay with wires