The Aussie dollar fell a cent against the greenback in early Australasian trade this morning following the inconclusive election result.

European shares hit one-month lows on Friday as investors fretted about the health of the global economy. Construction stocks lost ground on disappointing earnings from Holcim, the world´s second biggest cement maker. The FTSEurofirst index fell by 0.7pct while the UK FTSE lost 0.3pct and the German Dax was lower by 1.2pct.

US blue-chip shares fell in light trade on Friday but technology shares bucked the trend. Concerns about the health of the US economy dominated trade. Shares in chipmaker Marvell Technology rose by 7.8pct after delivering strong guidance. The Dow Jones fell by 57pts or 0.6pct after being down 120pts. The S&P 500 lost 0.4pct but the Nasdaq rose by 0.8pts or less than 0.1pct. Over the week the Dow Jones lost 0.9pct with the S&P 500 down 0.7pct but the Nasdaq was higher by 0.3pct.

US treasuries retreated in late trade on Friday to finish little-changed as investors took profit and prepared for issuance of US$109 billion in new debt over the coming week. US 2yr yields fell by 1pt to 0.495pct and US 10yr yields were steady near 2.62pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 3pts and US 10yr yields fell by 5pts.

Major currencies were generally lower against the greenback although the Aussie dollar marked time in US and European trade on Friday. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.2830 to US$1.2660, ending US trade near US$1.2705. The Aussie dollar traded between US88.40c to US89.40c, ending US trade near the day´s highs. This morning the Aussie fell to US88.40c before stabilising near US88.60c. And the Japanese yen eased from 85.25 yen per US dollar to JPY85.80, ending US trade near JPY85.65.

US crude oil prices fell on Friday as investors worried about the potential for a double-dip recession. A firmer US dollar also weighed on commodity prices. The Nymex crude oil contract fell by US97c or 1.3pct to US$73.46. London Brent crude fell by US$1.04 to US$74.26 a barrel. Over the week Nymex oil fell by 2.6pct.

Base metal prices ended lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, falling between 0.7-2.3pct. But over the week base metal prices generally rose, up between 0.6-1.5pc, although lead was flat and aluminium lost 3pct. And the Comex gold price fell for the first time in seven days on Friday in line with other commodities and a firmer greenback. Comex gold fell by US$6.60 an ounce to US$1,228.80. Still, gold finished higher for the third week, up 1.0pct.

Ahead: In Australia, Westpac provides a quarterly update. Earnings results are expected from Caltex, NIB Holdings, Ansell, Spark Infrastructure and Challenger. In the US no major economic data is due for release.