After some monster gains in the previous session, international equities collectively lost ground overnight.

In Europe the FTSE gave up 22 points (-0.4%) to settle at 5745, whilst the CAC (-1.6%) and DAX (-1%) endured heavier losses.

Stateside, the Dow Jones lost 83 points (-0.6%) to settle at 13033, with the broader S&P (-0.4%) and Nasdaq (-0.4%) off a similar amount.

Lacklustre earnings from a pair of Intel and IBM weighed on the Dow Jones, handing the index its first loss in three days.

The Aussie dollar slipped lower and is now trading back below the US$1.04 handle, whilst the British pound jumped 0.6% against the greenback dollar after BoE policymakers said inflation may be higher than forecast.

Crude fell for the first time in three days, losing 1.5% to $102.67 a barrel, after the US Energy Department said oil inventories rose 3.86 million barrels last week, more than double the increase forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

Gold futures dropped 0.7%, declining for the second time in three sessions, as the US dollar's advance curbed demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset.

In company news, TLS proved the market with an investor update, in which it confirmed earnings guidance for FY12.

Today's session will bring us data in the form of NAB quarterly business confidence, 11:30am, AEDT.

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Morning Market Analyis: Aussie Dollar Slips is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog