NEW YORK – The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed on Monday on the final trading day of the second quarter as record oil boosted energy shares, offsetting weak financial stocks amid nagging concerns of further credit losses.
The Nasdaq ended the session lower, hurt by a drop in the shares of Yahoo as it battles with shareholders after takeover talks with Microsoft fell apart.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 3.50 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 11,350.01. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.62 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 1,280.00.
The Nasdaq composite index was down 22.65 points, or 0.98 per cent, at 2,292.98.

LONDON – UK stocks ended 1.74 per cent higher, with oil stocks gaining on a record high crude price and miners, led by Anglo American, advancing on firmer metals.
The FTSE 100 index closed 96 points higher at 5,625.9.

FRANKFURT – The DAX index ended at 6,418.32 points, down 3.59 or 0.06 per cent.

PARIS – The CAC-40 index closed at 4,434.85 points, up 37.53 or 0.85 per cent.

TOKYO – The Nikkei stock average dipped 0.46 per cent to end its worst first half since 1995, though it gained about 8 per cent this quarter, recovering about half of what it lost since a year-low hit in mid-March.
The index shed 62.98 points to close at 13,481.38.

HONG KONG – Shares marked their worst half-year performance since 1994, though the blue-chip index closed a whisker higher as investors held out hope for a US market rebound this week.
The Hang Seng Index closed 59.66 points, or 0.27 per cent, higher at 22,102.01.

WELLINGTON – The sharemarket extended Friday’s hefty plunge, dropping another one per cent on Monday on poor sentiment about the economy.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index fell 32.29 points to 3,194.61.

SYDNEY – The Australian share market is expected to open higher today after the the Dow and S&P 500 finished slightly stronger on Wall Street overnight.
At 0756 AEST on the Sydney Futures exchange, the September share price index was up 17 points to 5,210.
In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) holds its monthly board meeting.
Economists are predicting that the RBA will keep interest rates on hold.
Also today, the AI Group – PwC Australian performance manufacturing index for June, the SAI Global/ACCI quarterly Survey of Investor Confidence and the RBA commodity price index for June will be released.
The Australian share market closed lower yesterday despite a positive start, finishing the financial year substantially weaker.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 21.7 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 5,215.3, while the broader All Ordinaries surrendered 16.5 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 5,332.9.

NYMEX
Oil slipped from a record high above $US143 a barrel on Monday as weak US demand countered mounting tensions between OPEC nation Iran and Israel.
US crude settled 21 cents US lower at $US140.00 a barrel, after hitting an all-time high of $143.67 earlier.
London Brent crude settled 48 US cents lower at $US139.83.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Saturday Tehran would impose controls on shipping in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, if it were attacked. Roughly 40 per cent of the world’s traded oil flows though the narrow waterway separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said on Monday the United States and its allies would not allow Iran to hamper shipping in the Gulf. Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday he did not believe Israel was in a position to attack.
Tehran’s dispute with the West over its nuclear development program has supported the 40 percent rise in oil prices this year, as has an influx of cash from investors seeking to hedge against inflation and the slumping US dollar.

LONDON METAL EXCHANGE
Copper closed lower on Monday as the dollar turned higher against the euro, offsetting supply concerns raised by a nationwide strike in major producer Peru.
Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange touched $8,620 per tonne, its highest level since April 29 before closing at $8,520 per tonne, compared with $8,530/8,535 last quoted on Friday.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division, copper for September delivery ended up 0.45 cent at $3.8825 a pound.
Aluminium closed down $5.5 at $3,114.5 per tonne, while nickel was steady at $21,950 and lead was $10 lower at $1,790.
Zinc was unchanged at $1,930, while tin closed up at $23,450 versus a last quote of $23,350/23,400 on Friday.

COMEX
Gold ended lower after slipping from the five-week high it hit earlier in Monday’s session, as crude oil erased initial gains after rallying to a record, denting bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge.
US gold contract for August delivery on COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange settled down $US3.00 at $US928.30 an ounce.
Gold was at $US925.95/927.15 by New York’s last quote, down from $US927.20/928.20 an ounce late in New York on Friday.
Among other precious metals, spot platinum ended at $SU2,059.00/2,079.00 an ounce from $US2,053.50/2,073.50 late in New York.
Spot palladium finished lower at $US459.00/467.00 an ounce from its previous finish of $US463.00/471.00 an ounce.
Silver was steady at $US17.37/17.42 an ounce from $US17.52/17.61 late in New York on Friday.

NEW YORK – Nippon Steel Corp, JFE Steel Corp and other leading Japanese steelmakers accepted a 96.5 per cent increase in Australian iron ore prices from Rio Tinto mining group, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported from Tokyo in its Tuesday online edition.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO – Yahoo Inc on Monday sought to rally shareholder support in the face of a proxy battle with billionaire Carl Icahn, saying the activist investor had an “ill-defined plan” for the future of the internet company.

CHICAGO – The US economy continues to bump along at a slow level of growth but has probably not fallen into recession, a series of regional purchasing managers’ reports suggested on Monday.

LONDON – American artist Jeff Koons’s sculpture Balloon Flower (Magenta) sold for a record-breaking STG12.9 million ($A26.8 million) in an auction, Christie’s said.

NEW YORK – Ford Motor Co has had exploratory talks with French automaker Renault SA to sell Volvo, but the talks ended quickly due to price differences.

NEW YORK – Toyota Motor Corp plans to begin building and selling a hybrid version of its Camry sedan in China in 2010, according to a report in the Tuesday edition of Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

DETROIT – Chrysler LLC plans to cut production by closing a US minivan plant and extending summer shutdowns at some of its other factories as the automaker battles slow vehicle sales amid record high gas prices.

LOCAL NEWS

PERTH – Australia’s financial services sector is not attracting enough skilled workers to the detriment of the nation’s push to become a global financial services sector, a report finds.

SYDNEY – NSW truck drivers angry at the soaring cost of fuel will disrupt traffic in a go slow protest on the F3 freeway.

CANBERRA – Telstra has become the first Australian mobile phone carrier to reveal pricing details for the iPhone, ahead of the arrival of the much-hyped device next month.

STOCKS TO WATCH ON THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE TODAY:

BNB – BABCOCK & BROWN LTD – up $1.14, or 17.92 per cent, to $7.50
The investment firm said its bankers had removed a market capitalisation review clause linked to its debt facilities, triggering a spike in its shares.
The banking syndicate also agreed to waive its right to a review, after B&B’s market capitalisation fell below $2.5 billion earlier this month.
Babcock & Brown chief executive Phil Green later reaffirmed the company’s annual earnings guidance, saying the company had high quality assets and it was continuing to do deals.

MCC – MACARTHUR COAL LTD – down $1.13 to $16.87
Macarthur Coal, which has tenements in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, said Arcelor Mittal had raised its stake in the company to 19.9 per cent, from 14.9 per cent.
The shares were bought at $20 a share from Talbot Group Holdings, a company owned by Ken Talbot.
The purchase of the further five per cent interest from Mr Talbot brings Arcelor Mittal’s total investment in Macarthur Coal to $843 million, the company said.

APN – APN NEWS & MEDIA LTD – down three cents to $2.98
APN said it expects its net profit for the half year to June 2008 to be in line with last year’s result but that operating earning would be marginally lower due to the increased costs of investment projects.

ILU – ILUKA RESOURCES LTD – steady at $4.71
Iluka Resources said it would restart its Western Australian mining and processing operations this week after securing additional gas.
Iluka was forced to shutdown its WA operations after a pipeline rupture and fire at the Varanus Island gas processing facility, which is operated by US-based Apache Energy Ltd.

SHL – SONIC HEALTHCARE LTD – steady at $14.55
Sonic Healthcare has bought Clinical Laboratories, a medical laboratory company based in Hawaii in the United States, for $US121 million ($A126.04 million).

ROC – ROC OIL LTD – down two cents to $1.685
The company said its chief executive and founder John Doran died on Friday, June 27, after a short illness.
Roc Oil chairman Andrew Love said Dr Doran had been a driving force behind the company since its foundation in 1997 and expressed the deepest sympathies to his family.

AGK – AGL ENERGY LTD – up 23 cents to $14.30
AOE – ARROW ENERGY LTD – up 11 cents to $3.68
AGL Energy, Australia’s largest power retailer, and Arrow Energy have agreed to sell the North Queensland Gas Pipeline (NQGP) to Victorian Funds Management Corp for $205 million.

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