World sharemarkets failed to make much headway as the disappointing US jobs data released last week dented confidence and raised fears of a renewed global economic slowdown.Although it wasn't as bad as some had feared, the data pointed to a weaker outlook
World sharemarkets failed to make much headway as the disappointing US jobs data released last week dented confidence and raised fears of a renewed global economic slowdown.
Although it wasn't as bad as some had feared, the data pointed to a weaker outlook for the world's largest economy and even opened debate about whether more extraordinary measures will be required to get the US economy growing in a sustainable way.
In Europe, trading volume was thin because Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended down 0.2% at 236.68.
The UK's FTSE 100 closed down 0.3% at 4823.53, Germany's DAX declined 0.3% to 5816.20 and France's CAC-40 closed 0.5% lower at 3332.46.
Asian markets ended mixed with Chinese stocks dragged lower by worries of economic slowdown, while Japanese consumer finance firms were buoyed by hopes for relaxed lending laws.
In Sydney, CSR gained 3.5% after it agreed to sell Sucrogen, its sugar and renewable energies business, to Singapore’s Wilmar International for $A1.75 billion, eclipsing a long-standing offer from China’s Bright Food Group.
Indian shares struggled to rise after the Reserve Bank of India raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Friday to control inflation,
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% to 9266.78, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 4222.11, Korea's Kospi inched 0.2% higher to 1675.37, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.8% to 2363.95, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% to 19,842.20 and India's Sensex was marginally down at 17,441.44.
Taiwan's Taiex rose 1.5% to 7439.96, Singapore's Straits Times Index was unchanged at 2844.02 and Indonesian shares rose 0.2% to 2877.30.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude-oil futures saw modest gains after last week's steep losses, but trading was quiet due to the US holiday.
The front-month August contract traded 22USc higher at $US72.36 a barrel. The front-month August Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was 38USc higher at $US72.03 a barrel.
Trading in spot gold was quiet. Market participants reported buying in Asia overnight as physical buyers took advantage of last week's $US40 drop. The latest price was off $US1.50, or 0.1%, at $US1209.80 an ounce.
Currencies: Dollar steady, euro down
The euro was down, while the dollar held modest gains, rebounding from losses on Friday.
The euro traded at $US1.2525, from $1.2550 late on Friday in New York. The dollar was at ¥87.81 from ¥87.79, while the euro was at ¥109.98 from ¥110.17.
The UK pound was at $US1.5120 from $US1.5197.
