In US trade, markets declined as Greece's political situation came back to haunt markets. With New Democracy head Antonis Samaras failing to form a new coalition government, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras is becoming increasingly vocal. Tsipras stirred things up by warning that 'the popular verdict clearly renders the bailout deal null'. This Greece political uncertainty has the potential to derail the risk rally we have seen this year.

Among the major averages, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at 12932. The S&P was 0.4% lower at 1364, and the NASDAQ also slumped 0.4%, finishing at 2946.

With a sharp rise in risk aversion, commodities and risk currencies were the hardest hit. Gold and copper dropped around 2% each, with the former breaching the $1600 level at some stage. As a result, we expect to see a broad sell-off across the resource space. BHP's ADR is pointing to a 0.2% fall to $34.99. The Aussie dollar continued its slide with AUD/USD declining to 1.00883, its lowest print since December last year. Parity is certainly not far away at all with pressure still firmly to the downside.

Ahead of the open, we are calling the Aussie market down 0.8% at 4281. This leaves the market back where it was at the beginning of April, with the next key support at 4250. On a more positive note, US markets finished the session significantly off their lows, and the weaker Aussie dollar will also support some sectors. The federal budget did not bring any big surprises and is unlikely to have a large impact on trading today. Treasurer Wayne Swan presented a budget that will result in a surplus of $1.54 billion for full-year 2012-13, ending four years of deficits. The unemployment rate is projected to rise to 5.5% in the next two years, while core inflation is expected to be 2.75% in the next year. On the economic front, we do not have any major events to look out for.

Market

Price at 6:30am AEST

Change Since Australian Market Close

Percentage Change

AUD/USD

1.0118

-0.0071

-0.69%

ASX (cash)

4281

-33

-0.77%

US DOW (cash)

12923

-82

-0.63%

US S&P (cash)

1362.7

-6.4

-0.47%

UK FTSE (cash)

5574

-77

-1.36%

German DAX (cash)

6499

-71

-1.09%

Japan 225 (cash)

9085

-97

-1.06%

Rio Tinto Plc (London)

31.08

-1.07

-3.31%

BHP Billiton Plc (London)

18.61

-0.57

-2.98%

BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD)

34.61

-0.07

-0.20%

US Light Crude Oil (June)

97.44

-0.29

-0.30%

Gold (spot)

1605.4

-31.7

-1.94%

Aluminium (London)

2059

-25

-1.19%

Copper (London)

8099

-138

-1.67%

Nickel (London)

17363

-314

-1.78%

Zinc (London)

2084

-27

-1.28%

IG Markets provides round-the-clock CFD trading on currencies, indices and commodities. The levels quoted in this email are the latest tradeable price for each market. The net change for each market is referenced from the corresponding tradeable level at yesterday's close of the ASX. These levels are specifically tailored for the Australian trader and take into account the 24hr nature of global markets.

Please contact IG Markets if you require market commentary or the latest dealing price.