The Australian share market looks set to open weaker this morning after US stocks closed in the red last Friday following a disappointing report on jobs.
Wall St closed lower ahead of a long weekend as investors saw weak jobs data as yet another sign that the US economic recovery is slowing.
Non-farm payrolls fell for the first time this year. The US economy lost 125,000 jobs in June, more than expected, however the unemployment rate fell to 9.5% from 9.7% for the month.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46 points at 9,686. The S&P 500 Index slipped 5 points to 1,023 and the NASDAQ lost 10 points at 2,092.
European stocks closed mixed; London’s FTSE is up 32 points, Paris gained 8 and Frankfurt fell 23.
Asian markets also closed mixed on Friday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 224, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 12 and China’s Shanghai Composite is up 9.
The Australian share market finished flat on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 1 point higher at 4,239 and on the futures market the SPI200’s down 30 points. Turning to currencies and the Aussie Dollar at 8:00AM was buying 84.16 US cents, 55.39 Pence Sterling, 73.85 Yen and 67.03 Euro cents.
In economic news: The TD Securities/Melbourne Institute inflation gauge for June is due out today, as well as the Australian Industries Group/Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services index for June, ANZ Job advertisements for June, and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries new car sales also for June.
In business news: Shares in building products and sugar business CSR Ltd (ASX:CSR) rose 1.5% to close at $1.70 last Friday. According to reports China's Bright Food Group has made a $1.65 billion cash bid for the company's sugar and renewable energy spin-off Sucrogen. The news follows much speculation that the Chinese company would again bid for the business after its initial offer of $1.5 billion was knocked back, CSR instead preferring to pursue a demerger of the business. The offer is still subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, and further details on the offer and CSR's stance on the bid are expected to be released at some stage today. CSR reported a loss of $111.7 million for the 12 months to March 30, 2010.
Shares in iron ore explorer Sundance Resources Ltd (ASX:SDL) are in a trading halt and last traded at $0.13. The company says it expects to lift the voluntary suspension of its shares sometime in the next two weeks. Sundance lost its entire board in a plane that crashed in West Africa last month, its shares have been halted since that time. The company says it anticipates being able to come out of that trading halt within a fortnight following the declaration of a defacto board of directors.Sundance says strategic advisers, former Sundance chairman George Jones, Michael Blakiston Adam Rankine-Wilson and Barry Eldridge, have declared themselves as defacto directors.Sundance Resources has posted losses in the last three fiscal years.
Going ex-dividend today is Clime Capital with a 1 cent fully franked dividend and Tutt Bryant with a 2 cent fully franked dividend.
To commodities, and the price of gold added $1.10 to US$1,207.40 an ounce for the July contract on Comex. Silver is down 6 cents to US$17.70 and copper is 4 cents higher at $2.90 a pound.
And the price of oil fell 81 cents to US$72.14 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
