The Australian share market finished almost unchanged on Tuesday as weakness in resources stocks offset gains in the banking sector. Asian markets were lower yesterday ahead of testimony by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index edged up 0.8 points or 0.02 per cent, at 4718.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had slipped 1.7 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower to 4731.
The Australian share market closed lower on Friday hit by National Australia Bank and Telstra. At close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 19.8 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 4650.5 while the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.7 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 4671.9. The Australian dollar fell to a fresh 10-week low on Friday and closed at US$0.8888.
US stocks fell for the second day after a downgrade of technology companies such as Intel. Energy and materials shares also showed losses as commodities prices tumbled.
Amcor Ltd. (ASX:AMC), the world's largest maker of plastic soft drink bottles, said Tuesday that it will buy parts of Rio Tinto Ltd.'s (ASX:RIO) Alcan Packaging business for US$2.025 billion to expand its existing business in Asia and Europe.
Wall Street ended lower in light trading on Friday as reports showed weak consumer sentiment in August and an unexpected decline in July retail sales. The weak reports prompted investors to lock in gains from the recent rally.
An encouraging employment report sent the US stocks to a more than nine months high on Friday. The Labor Department released a report that the country's unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 9.4 per cent, its first decline in 15 months.
Wall Street finished mixed overnight. Dow and S&P 500 indices ended their rising streak while Nasdaq posted its 11th straight rise led by Apple and Yahoo. Investors started to lock in their profits from a series of rallies driven by earnings reports.
