Despite an initial jump on news of a deal on the mining tax today, Aussie stocks have closed the session flat. Investors turned cautious ahead of key economic data out of the US tonight which may shed some light on the state of the global economic recovery.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 1 point higher at 4,239, down 174 points on the week. On the futures market, the SPI200’s up 28 points.
Looking to the U.S. and on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial index closed 411 points weaker for the four trading days this week. The S&P500 Index down 49 points, the NASDAQ is 122 points lower and the 100 index lost 104.
To company news around this afternoon: According to reports the New Zealand government has given NAB Ltd (ASX:NAB) the green light to acquire the New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd (ASX:AXA). The Australian Associated Press says NAB was given the thumbs up by NZ’s Overseas Investment Office for the deal on May 28. The bank still needs to gain clearance from NZ’s Commerce Commission for its bid for AXA’s assets worth over $337 million. NAB now has until July 15 to gain approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for AXA's Australian assets, its bid was rejected by the ACCC in April on the grounds it would lessen competition in the retail investment platform arena. Shares in NAB closed 0.13% higher today at $23.06.
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) says it is disappointed that it was not included in negotiations with the government over the proposed resources tax and says further consultation is needed. The miner says it believes the draft heads of agreement provides a reasonable framework for on-going industry consultation. CEO Andrew Forrest says it is also disappointing that right at the time that junior and smaller Australian iron ore and coal miners have managed to develop a foothold into the industry, they are immediately slugged with this proposed and additional tax. Fortescue says key elements of the proposed tax which it seeks further clarification include transitional arrangements, treatment of infrastructure costs and uplift over the bond rate as opposed to real borrowing costs which hurts developing companies and not the multinational giants. Shares in Fortescue Metals Group closed 2% stronger at $4.08.
Also making news: Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd (ASX:AWE) says its wholly owned subsidiary ARC Energy Ltd has extended its takeover offer for Adelphi Energy Ltd (ASX:ADI) by one week.
And Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) plans to combine its capital funds group with its funds group to create one entity with $280 billion under management.
Taking a look back at some of the stories that made headlines this week: Australian mining giants BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) & Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Swiss giant Xstrata have come out in support of the government’s new mining tax saying they are encouraged by the Australian Government’s decision to replace the proposed Resources Super Profits Tax with a Mineral Resource Rent Tax. The MRRT has been set at 30%, rather than the 40% proposed, will come into play from July 1, 2012, and will only apply to mined iron ore and coal, all other minerals are excluded.
Household goods retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX:HVN) has acquired majority of the stores of failed electronics retailer Clive Peeters for $55 million.
And grocery and liquor wholesaler Metcash Ltd (ASX:MTS) has acquired the Franklins supermarket chain in NSW for around $215 million.
In the best and worst performers: The best performing sector at close today was the Industrials index, up 51 points at 3,191. The worst performing sector at close was the Telco Services index; down 15 points at 1,059.
The best performing stock in the S&P/ ASX200 was Downer EDI, shares rose 8.19% to close at $3.70, followed by Macmahon Holdings and Southern Cross Media Group.
The worst performing stock was Sigma Pharmaceuticals, shares dropped 5.81% to close at $0.405. Shares in Eldorado Gold and Karoon Gas Australia also closed weaker today.
And finally, the Aussie dollar is trading at 84.44 US cents - and is down around 3 cents on the week. In commodities, gold is trading at $1,207.75 U.S an ounce and is down $46.75 on the week, and light crude is down 6 cents at $72.89 U.S a barrel.
