AAP
The Australian share market relinquished early gains to close around 0.6 per cent lower as relentless uncertainty over Greece's future and Chinese bank loan targets plagued investors.
At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 26.6 points, or 0.66 per cent, at 4,029.2.
The broader All Ordinaries index was down 25.0 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 4,081.2.
On the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was 21 points lower at 4,031 with 30,374 contracts traded.
Comments by Italy's Prime Minister, Mario Monti, that Greece was likely to stay in the euro zone were enough to tip Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Index and S&P 500 into positive territory.
The local market opened higher, only to shed its gains by midday on concerns over Greece's future and after reports emerged that China's biggest banks may miss their loan targets for the first time in seven years.
"The fear of fallout from Greece - (investors) are connecting that with (local) banks and everything else," Stuart Smith, senior client adviser at Bell Potter Securities, said.
"The market is now pitching to the retail investor to keep their money in the bank by virtue of the yield."
The local market's seven biggest stocks, and most sectors, lost ground.
Market heavyweight BHP Billiton fell 38 cents, or 1.19 per cent, to $31.61, while Rio Tinto declined 43 cents to $55.93, and Woodside Petroleum slipped 11 cents to $31.00.
Major banks closed down, with Westpac Banking Corporation the worst performer after it shed 27 cents, or 1.32 per cent, to $20.12.
AMP was the best performing financial stock, finishing up six cents, or 1.57 per cent, to $3.89.
Other stocks to buck the downward trend included department store owner David Jones which gained seven cents, or 3.18 per cent, to $2.27, and News Corporation which jumped 27 cents, or 1.37 per cent, to $20.00.
Earthmoving equipment supplier Emeco firmed two cents to 86.5 cents after forecasting full year profit growth of up to 41 per cent due to strong demand in Australia, Canada and Indonesia.
Utilities also strengthened, with APA Group gaining eight cents, or 1.61 per cent, to $5.04, and ERM Power Ltd up 2.5 cents, or 1.33 per cent, to $1.905.
The spot price of gold in Sydney closed at $US1,562.06 per fine ounce, up $US2.31 from Thursday's local close of US$1,559.75.
National turnover was 1.5 billion securities worth $5.2 billion, with 444 securities trading up, 490 down and 377 steady.
Swiss Stocks Rise, Monti Says Most Leaders Pro Euro Bonds - Bloomberg
Swiss stocks erased their earlier advance as Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and UBS AG (UBSN) led financial shares lower.
The benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) slipped 0.1 percent to 5,847.04 at 2:36 p.m. in Zurich, bringing this week’s increase to 0.9 percent. The gauge has retreated 1.5 percent this year amid concern Greece may fail to implement austerity measures and leave the euro currency union. The broader Swiss Performance Index also dropped 0.1 percent today.
The volume of shares changing hands in SMI-listed companies was 9.8 percent lower than the average of the last 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Levring in Copenhagen at plevring1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
Stocks gain on Wall Street; Facebook falls - Yahoo Finance
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Yahoo! - ABC News Network
US STOCKS-Futures flat on concerns over Greece - Reuters UK
* Belgian deputy PM says grave error not to prepare for Greek euro exit
* U.S. consumer sentiment data on tap
* Futures: S&P down 0.4 pt, Dow down 10 pts, Nasdaq up 2.25 pts (Adds quote)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, May 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index futures were little changed on Friday as hopes that the European Central Bank could take further action to tackle the region's debt crisis were offset by fresh warnings over Greece.
Belgian deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders issued a new warning over Greece, saying it would be a "grave professional error" if central banks and companies were not preparing for a Greek exit from the euro zone.
European shares rose earlier on rising speculation that European authorities could soon initiate new aid measures. Credit Agricole said it expected the ECB to make a move at its next rate-setting meeting on June 6 and announce new measures such as another round of emergency funding for the region's banks.
Wall Street is on track for its best weekly gain in over two months based on Thursday's close. The trading has been volatile all week, mostly by starting off the morning session weak but adding gains into the close.
Trading was expected to remain volatile as investors focus on headlines out of Europe. Corporate earnings season is almost out of the way and recent economic reports in the U.S. have been raising questions about the pace of growth.
" Classically defensive sectors of the S&P 500 continue to show constructive momentum trends on a relative strength basis," according to Ari Wald, analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, was up almost 26 percent for the month, although the index closed 3.6 percent lower on Thursday to settle at 21.54.
On the macro front, investors awaited the release of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers final May consumer sentiment index, due at 9:55 a.m. ET (1355 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 77.8, a repeat of the preliminary May reading.
Morgan Stanley will adjust thousands of trades to ensure outstanding limit orders to sell will be filled at no more than $42.99 a share for Facebook stock from last Friday's botched initial public offering, the firm told its brokers on Thursday, according to several who listened to the call.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc independent director Douglas Daft resigned from the board this week, at a time when concerns about slowing growth and allegations of accounting malpractice have hammered the stock.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.4 point and were in line with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 10 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 2.25 points.
BlackRock Inc's Global Resources team increased its Chesapeake Energy Corp stake to 4 million shares from fewer than 1 million shares, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
PayPal has made deals with 15 retailers including Toys R Us, J C Penney and Barnes & Noble that will allow consumers to pay for purchases with their cellphones while expanding the online payment company's service into additional physical stores.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended slightly higher in a third session marked by late-day swings, but the Nasdaq fell after NetApp gave a weak revenue forecast, casting doubt on the outlook for tech spending. (Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Dave Zimmerman)
Stocks up 0.20%, as eurozone worries cap gains - Japan Today
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Tokyo stocks rose 0.20% on Friday but gains were capped by rising fears over the eurozone and Greece’s possible departure from the embattled single currency. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 17.01 points to 8,580.39 while the ...
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