A one Australian dollar coin ($1.09) is seen in this picture illustration taken in Sydney April 29, 2011.
IN PHOTO: A one Australian dollar coin ($1.09) is seen in this picture illustration taken in Sydney April 29, 2011. The Australian dollar consolidated near recent highs against a broadly weaker U.S. currency on Friday and within spitting distance a huge chart objective at $1.1000, having enjoyed its best month so far this year. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
  • Local shares retreated in early trade on Monday. The weakness reflected similar losses seen in northern hemisphere markets at the end of last week. US sharemarkets fell as investors reacted to weaker economic data in Europe and China. US investors have been disappointed by revenue estimates of American companies reporting earnings results. The Dow Jones fell by 163 points or 0.9% with the S&P 500 down by 1.1% while the Nasdaq lost almost 58 points or 1.1%. Over the week the Dow Jones fell by 2.9% with the S&P 500 index down 2.2% with the Nasdaq down by 2.3%. In Europe shares fell after French and German "flash" manufacturing indexes eased in July while company earnings results disappointed in vestors. The FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 0.9% with the German Dax down by 1.4% while the UK FTSE was lower by 1.1%. In London trade mining shares slumped with BHP Billiton down by 3.8% and Rio Tinto lower by 3.5%.
  • In terms of sector performances on Monday, most groups were in the red. Materials and energy based stocks remained under pressure following weaker global flash PMI figures which exacerbated demand concerns. According to Bloomberg, copper fell to its lowest level since 2009, as investors who are banned from short-selling Chinese equities may be resorting to shorting copper as a proxy for the Chinese economy. Shares in Atlas Iron (AGO) fell 69 percent after resuming trading for the first time in more than three months. AGO shares dropped more than 8 cents to 3.7 cents having traded at 12 cents per share prior to their suspension. The company suspended its shares in April after a fall in iron ore prices forced it to close three mines, which have now been restarted following a capital raising which netted $87 million, well below company expectations of $180 million.
  • Network Ten (TEN) announced that Hamish McLennan has stepped down as chief executive and executive chairman of Ten to be replaced by current Ten non-executive director David Gordon as chairman and by chief financial officer Paul Anderson as CEO. Mr McLennan was brought in by then chairman Lachlan Murdoch in March 2013 following the dumping of former then CEO James Warburton after just 13 months in the job. Prior to his appointment, McLennan had been in an executive role with News Corp. Ten shares fell 1.2% to 20.7 cents
  • In foreign exchange markets, major currencies have recently been mixed against the greenback in European and US trade. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US73.05c to lows around US72.60c and ended US trade near US72.75c, in early Asian trade the local unit was trading just short of US73.00c.

Tom Piotrowski - Market Analyst (Author)

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