Global markets are expected to come under deep pressure following the attacks in Paris over the weekend with the Aussie market expected to open in the red.
US stocks also ended sharply lower on Friday to post their worst weekly losses in months and adding to the case for a weak start to the ASX.
US economc news
Retail sales added just 0.1 per cent in October, well below expectations of a 0.4 per cent rise.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2 per cent to close at 17,245, the S&P 500 lost 1.1per cent to close at 2,023 and the NASDAQ lost 1.5 per cent to close at 4,928.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE shed nearly 1 per cent, Paris lost 1 per cent and Frankfurt slipped 0.7 per cent.
Asian markets closed down: Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.2 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite retreated 1.4 per cent.
The Australian share market closed lower yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 74 points down to finish at 5,051 to be 164 points lower on the week. On the futures market the SPI is 37 points down.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:20AM was buying 71.14 US cents, 46.74 Pence Sterling, 87.02 Yen and 66.29 Euro cents.
Economic news
Due out today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is new motor vehicle sales for October.
Company news Cardno Limited
(ASX:CDD) says it has sold its US business Cardno ATC to a private equity firm for $89.1 million. The asset was identified to sell in a strategic review put forward in October. Cardno has moved quickly to offload the low margin business and will use the proceeds to pay off debt. Shares in Cardno closed 3.04 per cent higher at $3.05 ahead of the weekend.
Devine Limited
(ASX:DVN) says it has appointed an Independent Board Sub-Committee to review the CIMIC Group off-market takeover offer of $0.75 cash per share for the 49 per cent of the company it doesn’t already own. Shares in Devine closed steady on Friday at $0.765.
Commodities
Gold advanced $2.40 to US$1,083 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.01 to $14.23 for December. Copper is down $0.01 to $2.16 a pound. Oil has slipped $1.04 to US$41.99 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
