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[Dow Jones] Australian investors are starting 2015 with a clean slate, says Michael McCarthy, a strategist at CMC Markets. "Data releases over the holiday break were largely benign, and the most recent market action will be largely discounted as month-, quarter- and year-end related," he says. Local traders will now "move their focus to the prospects of the new year," he adds. McCarthy says weak sentiment in commodity markets will, of course, continue to play a key role in direction for the resources-heavy Australian bourse. Also, "year-end selling of property and healthcare stocks puts them in today's spotlight as possible targets for value investors," he adds. S&P/ASX 200 trades down 0.2% at 5399.4. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; Twitter: @RhiannonHoyle)

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