US stocks ended lower ahead of the weekend on worries that Greece will be unable to seal a deal on its bailout package this week.
The losses were across all the sectors with energy stock falling the most, all providing our local stock market with little in the way of a positive lead.
US enconomic news
The Producer Price Index gained 0.5 per cent in May, above expectations of a 0.4 per cent rise and the largest advance since May 2013.
And the Federal Reserve meets this week to discuss when interest rates might start rising with Chair Janet Yellen due to speak directly afterwards.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8 per cent to close at 17,899, the S&P 500 lost 0.7 per cent to close at 2,094 and the NASDAQ lost 0.6 per cent to close at 5,051.
European markets closed broadly lower: London’s FTSE shed 0.9 per cent, Paris lost 1.4 per cent and Frankfurt ended 1.2 per cent down.
Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.4 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.9 per cent.
The Australian share market closed lower ahead of the weekend: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 11 points to finish at 5,545 for a gain of 47 points over the week. On the futures market the SPI is 6 points down.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 7:20AM was buying 77.52 US cents, 49.87 Pence Sterling, 95.50 Yen and 69.16 Euro cents.
Company news
TPG Telecom Limited
(ASX:TPM) says that the Federal Court of Australia has asked for iiNet Limited
(ASX:IIN) shareholders to meet and vote on the proposed takeover by TPG. The meeting has been set for the 27th of July with iiNet’s board recommending that the company’s shareholders agree to the scheme. A final decision on the merger from the ACCC is due by August 20th. Shares in TPG Telecom closed 0.46 per cent lower on Friday at $8.64.
And Webster Limited
(ASX:WBA) says it has achieved 96 per cent of acceptances in its takeover offer for Tandou and the offer has now closed. This latest investment follows the acquisitions of Kooba in December and Benereng in May. Shares in Webster closed 0.54 per cent softer at $1.83 ahead of the weekend.
Ex-dividends One company is trading ex-dividend today: Dicker Data Limited
(ASX:DDR) will pay 2.7 cents fully franked.
Commodities
Gold has slipped $1.20 to $US1,179 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. Silver has dipped 14 cents to $15.82 for July. Copper has gained 1 cent to $2.68 a pound. Oil has lost $0.81 to $59.96 a barrel for July light crude in New York.
