The Australian share market looks set to open lower, after Wall Street closed in the red when tech stocks fell. It is the biggest two-day loss on the Nasdaq Composite since December.
Big tech stocks as Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook all felt losses.
The S&P 500 slid 0.1 per cent, with information technology leading the decliners to fall 0.8 per cent.
The Dow Jones fell about 35 points, on the back of Apple giving the largest losses.
Meantime, Gold and Silver have slipped.
US economic newsThe US government reported a US$88.4 billion budget deficit in May, beating analyst expectations of a $86.5 billion deficit.
The fiscal deficit has increased to US$433 billion in the first eight months of 2017, from US$405 billion last year.
Local economic newsToday, NAB will release data for its Business Confidence survey for May. It comes after its Business Conditions Index rose from 12.3 points to 14.3 points in April, which is a 9 year high.
The ABS will report overseas arrival and departure data for April with the inflow of Chinese tourists, rising at a double-digit annual rate.
The bureau will also release credit and debit card levels for April.
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 0.2 per cent to close at 21,236, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 per cent to close at 2,429 and the NASDAQ fell 0.5 per cent to close at 6,175.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE fell 0.2 per cent, Paris lost 1.1 per cent and Frankfurt fell about 1 per cent.
Asian markets closed weaker: Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite is down 0.6 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed flat on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index added just 1 point to finish at 5,678. On the futures market, the SPI is 20 points down.
Company newsCoal of Africa Limited
(ASX:CZA) has announced it has now received approval from the South African Competition Commission to acquire 100% of the shares in Pan African Resources Coal Holdings Proprietary Limited. The coal exploration and mining company says the transaction is subject to certain conditions including approval from its shareholders at the company’s General Meeting on 15 June 2017. Coal of Africa says its will provide an update on the transaction’s expected timing of completion following the General Meeting. Shares in Coal of Africa Limited (ASX:CWSAWESTEZA) closed flat at 4.4 cents.
Ex-dividendsTwo companies are going ex-dividend today:
Cimic Group Limited
(ASX:CIM) is paying 62 cents fully franked.
Gentrack Group Limited
(ASX:GTK) is paying 3.94 cents un franked.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7.30AM was buying 75.46 US cents, 59.55 Pence Stirling, 82.92 Yen and 67.35 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has lost $3.50 to $US1,268 an ounce.
Silver has lost 28 cents to $US16.95 an ounce.
Oil has jumped 14 cents to $US46.21 a barrel.
