Market wrap: Australian traders face a red start to the week after falls in commodity prices over the long weekend.
Two days of choppy overseas trading have left global stock markets little changed during the extended local weekend. A late comeback on Wall Street overnight left stocks near even for the second session in a row. The major indexes finished mixed, with the S&P 500 up 1 point and the Dow down 1 point. The Nasdaq lost 0.38%. Financials fueled the late rally.
But commodity prices have been on the slide since the close of Australian trade on Friday as the US dollar strengthened against the Euro. Gold futures slid another 1% overnight to $951.90, their lowest level in two weeks. Oil slid 0.5% to $68.62, still close to recent highs. Base metals were mixed, with most weaker but aluminium bucking the downtrend in US trade despite another jump in stockpiles.
Futures traders expect some of Friday's Rio-inspired euphoria to dissipate this morning. The SPI closed down 21 points at 3937.
Looks like a set-up for a split market today, with any strength coming from the financial sector, while the miners may give back some gains. Goldies could be weak after another apparent rejection of the $1000 resistance level.
