SYDNEY, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to start mostly unchanged on Tuesday as they track Wall Street, but a drop in metals and oil prices overnight are expected to weigh on the benchmark index.
Local share price index futures YAPcm1 slipped 0.1 percent to 5,494 points, a 21.1 point discount to the underlying benchmark, which lost 0.21 percent on Monday.
Caltex Australia (CTX) and Oil Search (OSH) report half-year figures.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) hit another record high of 7,481.0 points in early trade, up 0.3 percent.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a summary of overnight action across global markets, clickon [AU/CALL] For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, click on [PRESS/AUB]
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