The ASX could see a further sell down today after early results in the vote count show that Greece is decisively rejecting the terms demanded by the IMF. Over 60 per cent of Greeks are voting no in the referendum over the bailout submitted by the European Commission.
The Greek government wants to resume negotiations to strike a deal for fresh funding however it is possible that creditors will take a hard line and Greece will now be forced to exit the Eurozone.
The Aussie dollar has reacted sharply falling below 75 US cents.
US markets were closed on Friday for the US Independence Day.
Markets
Wall Street closed down on Thursday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average last traded at 17,730, the S&P 500 last closed at 2077 and the NASDAQ ended at 5009.
European markets closed down: London’s FTSE slipped 0.7 per cent, Paris lost 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt was down 0.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite plunged 6 per cent.
The Australian share market closed lower ahead of the weekend: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 62 points down to close at 5,538 and was 8 points down on the week. On the futures market the SPI is 7 points lower.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 74.80 US cents, 48.10 Pence Sterling, 91.27 Yen and 68.10 Euro cents.
Company news
Euroz Limited
(ASX:EZL) will acquire Entrust Private Wealth Management. WA-based wealth management business Entrust has $565 million worth of funds under management and founding members Graeme Yukich and Andrew Fry will stay on in the new subsidiary which will continue to operate under the same name. Shares in Euroz last traded steady at $1.00.
And the board of Affinity Education Group Limited
(ASX:AFJ) has recommended its shareholders take no action on the proposed $162 million takeover offer from G8 Education Limited
(ASX:GEM). Affinity describes the hostile bid as opportunistic and highly conditional. Shares in Affinity last traded 29.63 per cent higher at $0.70.
Ex-dividends One company is trading ex-dividend today: Abacus Property Group Limited
(ASX:ABP) will pay 8.5 cents unfranked.
Commodities
Gold has added $4.30 to $1,168 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. Silver has added 9 cents to $15.66 for September. Copper is down 1 cent to $2.62 a pound. Oil has shed $1.41 to US$55.52 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
