Despite a positive lead from Wall Street, the Australian stock market is trading weak on Monday with investors pressing sales at several blue chip counters amid worries about the financial situation in the eurozone.
Mirroring fairly widespread selling, all the sectoral indices are down in negative territory. Industrial, mining and energy stocks are among the major losers. Stocks from financial and consumer discretionary sectors are also mostly trading notably lower.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 3,996.8, is currently trading at 4,001.4, down 46.8 points or 1.2 percent from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 44.9 points or 1.1 percent at 4048.9.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are down 1.4 to 1.6 percent, while Newcrest Mining is losing nearly 2.5 percent.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search, Origin Energy and Caltex Australia are down 1.1 to 1.8 percent, while Santos is trading lower by about 0.4 percent.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are down 1.2 to 1.4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia is trading 0.4 percent down. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are down 1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
APA Group, Investa Office Fund, Duet Group, Stockland, Commonwealth Property Office Fund, Sydney Airport, Lynas Corporation, CFS Retail Property Trust Group and Transurban Group are trading lower by 3 to 4.3 percent.
Centro Retail Australia, Alumina, James Hardie Industries, Panaust, Goodman Group, Sims Metal Management, Dexus Property Group, Mirvac Group, Seek and Beach Energy are also trading sharply lower.
Billabong International shares tumbled by over 30 percent following last week's earnings downgrade and the launch of an A$225 million capital raising.
Billabong said it has completed the institutional component of its accelerated pro-rata renounceable entitlement offer and raised about A$155 million, or 79 percent of the new shares available.
On Wall Street, stocks ended with moderate gains on Friday thanks to some hectic bargain hunting after the previous session's setback. However, the mood was generally cautious due to lingering concerns about the near term economic outlook.
The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but still ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow rose 67.2 points or 0.5 percent to 12,640.8, the Nasdaq jumped 33.3 points or 1.2 percent to 2,892.4 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.5 points or 0.7 percent to 1,335.
Major European markets ended lower on Friday. While the French CAC 40 index slid by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the German DAX index dropped by 1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures charged back toward $80 a barrel on Friday, trimming steep losses from the previous session despite deepening concerns about the health of the global economy. Crude for August rose $1.56 to settle at $79.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
by RTT Staff Writer
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