(RTTNews) - The Australian market ended the first day of week on weak note, following cues from other Asian markets in the region as the US market will be closed for the day on the eve of Independence Day. Weak closing on Wall Street on Friday on disappointing jobs report and lack of clarity on global economic recovery impacted market sentiment. Traders preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch approach awaiting more global cues on the state of global economic health and recovery prospects. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index slipped 16.60 points, or 0.39% and closed at 4,221, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,251, representing a loss of 14.30 points, or 0.34%. On the economic front, results of a key survey revealed that Australia's service sector contracted in June, although the rate of decline was slower than in May. The Australian Industry Group / Commonwealth Bank Australia performance of services index stood at 48.8 in June, up from 47.5 in the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while one below suggests contraction. The main negative contributions to the indicator came from a faster rate of contraction in new orders and a shift from expansion to contraction for inventories and selling prices. These were partially offset by a slower pace of contraction in sales and expanding employment. An indicator of inflation in the country, captured by the TD Securities-Melbourne Institute Inflation gauge revealed that inflation indicator rose 3.6% in June, compared to the same period last year, well above the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2-3% inflation target range. On a monthly basis, the indicator was up 0.3% in June following a 0.5% increase in the previous month. The latest rise in the indicator was attributed to rising prices of fruits and vegetables. A report released by the ANZ Bank revealed that the total number of jobs advertized in major metropolitan newspapers and on the Internet in the country rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in June from May to an average of 169,690 per week. This follows a 2.7% rise in May. On a yearly basis, total job ads increased 32.2% in June. This follows a 21.7% rise in the preceding month. Newspaper job ads rose 11.8% and internet job ads increased 33.6%. Light sweet crude oil futures for August delivery ended at $72.61 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.47 per barrel from previous close at $72.14 a barrel in New York on Friday. Mixed trading was witnessed among the banking stocks. ANZ Bank added 0.14% and Commonwealth Bank advanced 0.13%. However, National Australia Bank lost 1.47%, and Wespac Banking slipped 0.81%. Investment bank Macquarie Group ended weaker by 1.25%.

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