The sliding oil price has put the skids under Wall Street, which with further bad news for BHP from the Samarco disaster, will place Australian shares under pressure from the opening bell on Monday, as prospects of a "Santa rally" fade. 
The Dow Jones dropped 2.1 per cent on Friday as investors turned their minds from the US Federal Reserve's historic rate hike to collapsing oil prices and worries over the global economy.
Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, lost a further 1.03 per cent to $US36.68 ($51) a barrel on Friday night, edging closer to 2008 lows. It was joined by lower prices for natural gas and industrial commodities, but gold and silver repaired recent losses.
The ASX 200 finished at 5106.6 on Friday. However, the ASX 200 Futures Index is pointing to a 0.8 per cent fall when trading resumes on Monday.
BHP Billiton will also come under selling pressure after news on Friday that a court ruling has blocked its Brazilian assets in response to the Samarco dam disaster.
A judge in the state of Minas Gerais froze the Brazilian assets of BHP and fellow mining giant Vale after determining their joint venture, Samarco, was unable to pay for damage caused by the bursting of the dam at its mine in   November, ruling that the two companies could be held responsible for the disaster. The government is also demanding $US5 billion over the disaster.
Despite the scale of the disaster, Vale had argued that Samarco, as an independent legal entity and a sizeable company in its own right, was wholly responsible for the accident and the subsequent damage and fines. The dam burst, Brazil's worst environmental disaster, killed 16 people, left hundreds homeless and polluted an 800-kilometre stretch of river.
The judgment mentioned estimates from the prosecutor that Samarco only had the funds to cover one-half of the damages. BHP, Vale and Samarco must make an initial deposit of $US500 million to cover clean-up costs and map out a clean-up plan. There are hefty daily fines if these requirements are not met.
Although Australian shares might get off to a rough start on Monday, AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said there was room for optimism over the rest of the year.
"Shares are likely to see their traditional year-end Santa Claus rally as investors take advantage of improved valuations, monetary conditions remain easy, and new issuance dries up into year end," he said.
"However, worries about a rising US dollar weighing on commodity prices and emerging countries mean that volatility will likely remain high."
Mr Oliver said the sharemarket should improve, as shares were cheap relative to bonds and monetary conditions would remain easy.
"Our end-year target of 5500 for the ASX 200 may be a bit of a stretch, but we see it rising to 5700 by the end of 2016."
Commsec chief economist Craig James said the US data should show "modest improvements".
"It's clear that the US economy is in good shape, with firm economic growth and low unemployment," he said. "No doubt the focus in the new year will be on the discussion of further potential future US rate hikes."