SYDNEY (Dow Jones) -- The Australian share market weakened Monday, albeit in extremely quiet trading due to the Independence Day long weekend on Wall Street. Concern about the global economic outlook offset optimism about renewed takeover activity in Australia.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 16.6 points, or 0.4%, at 4222.1 after hitting 4260.1 on a takeover bid for Centennial Coal and an agreement to buy CSR's Sucrogen business.
The index has fallen for eight of the past nine days, shedding 8.5% in that period.
On Friday, weaker-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls and factory orders data pushed the S&P 500 down 0.5% as investors worried about a potential double-dip recession in the U.S.
Although most Asian markets edged up slightly on Monday, the Australian share market took a bearish lead from China's Shanghai Composite, failing to sustain upticks on takeover activity.
CSR rose 3.5% to A$1.755 after agreeing to sell its Sucrogen business to Singapore's Wilmar International for A$1.75 billion, subject to regulatory approval.
Centennial Coal rose 32% to A$5.83 after agreeing to a A$6.20-a-share bid from Thailand's Banpu, valuing the target at around A$2.5 billion.