US markets posted mild losses on Friday at the end of a volatile trading month. Crises in Greece and China saw some wild swings through July however Wall Street ended the month with mildly positive gains.
The local market looks set for a weak start ahead the RBA interest rate decision and a slew of economic data.
US economic news
The Chicago PMI came in at 54.7 for July, a read above 50 indicates expansion. And the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey dipped to 93.1 for July from a read of 96.1 in June
The markets
Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3 per cent to close at 17,690, the S&P 500 lost 0.2 per cent to close at 2,104 and the NASDAQ lost 0.01 per cent to close at 5,128.
European markets closed in positive territory: London’s FTSE gained 0.4 per cent, Paris advanced 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.5 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained just over half a per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.1 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 30 points up to finish at 5,699 for a gain of 133 points on the week. On the futures market the SPI is 12 points down.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 73.18 US cents, 46.85 Pence Sterling, 90.67 Yen and 66.68 Euro cents.
Economic news
Due out today from CoreLogic RP Data are national home prices, ANZ releases the latest job advertisement numbers and the TD Securities monthly inflation gauge is out.
Company news
Metals X Limited
(ASX:MLX) will acquire the Mt Henry Gold Project in Western Australia from Panoramic Resources Limited
(ASX:PAN) and Matsa Resources Limited
(ASX:MAT). The sale price for 100 per cent of the gold mine is 22 million shares in Metals X worth a little under $25 million. Shares in Metals X closed 0.44 per cent lower on Friday at $1.12.
Regional Express Holdings Limited
(ASX:REX) has revised its profit guidance from ‘moderately positive’ to ‘moderately negative’ for the full financial year. The airline says deteriorating passenger numbers are to blame. Shares in REX ended steady at $1.02
Commodities
Gold has gained $6.30 to $1095 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver has added 6 cents to $14.76 for September. Copper has dipped 1 cent to $2.35 a pound. Oil is down $1.40 to $US47.12 a barrel for September light crude in New York.
