The Australian stock market is trading slightly weak on Monday with Friday's weak close on Wall Street prompting investors to indulge in some selling. Activity is mostly stock specific amid cautious trades ahead of Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision, due on Tuesday.
Industrial and consumer discretionary stocks are trading weak, while financial, healthcare, mining and energy stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to around 4,436 after rising to 4,464.4 in early trades, is currently down 3.6 points at 4,456.5. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 7.3 points at 4,476, off the day's low of 4,458.7.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are down marginally, while Westpac is trading in positive territory with a gain of about 0.6 percent.
Westpac said its net profit for the 12 months to September 30, 2012, came in at A$5.97 billion, down 15 percent from the prior corresponding period, due to the tax implications of its takeover of smaller rival St George.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are up marginally, while Newcrest Mining is trading lower by over 2 percent.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Caltex Australia are up 0.4 to 0.8 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are trading lower by 0.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Whitehaven Coal is trading lower by 4.4 percent. Perseus Mining, Challenger, David Jones, Downer EDI, Paladin Energy, Boral and Coca-Cola Amatil down 2 to 3 percent.
Lynas Corporation, Seven West Media, Regis Resources and Aristocrat Leisure are also trading notably lower.
Meanwhile, Duet Group, Iluka Resources, APA Group, Insurance Australia Group, Arrium and Atlas Iron are trading in positive territory, gaining 1.8 to 2 percent.
On the economic front, Australia saw a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit of A$1.456 billion in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of A$1.550 billion following the upwardly revised deficit of A$1.876 billion in August.
Exports were down 1.0 percent on month to A$24.166 billion, while imports shed 2.0 percent to A$25.623 billion.
Meanwhile, retail sales in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on month at A$21.591 billion in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. That beat estimates for an increase of 0.4 percent following the upwardly revised 0.3 percent increase in August and the 0.8 percent contraction in July.
For the third quarter of 2012, retail sales were down a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent compared to the previous three months to A$63.797 billion - also beating forecasts for a contraction of 0.2 percent following the downwardly revised decline of 1.2 percent.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are all trading weak, while Malaysia is up marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks mostly ended sharply lower on Friday, as traders shrugged off a better than expected jobs report and pressed sales due to lingering worries about the global economic outlook.
The major averages ended near their worst levels of the day. While the Dow slid 139.5 points or 1.1 percent to 13,093.2, the Nasdaq tumbled 37.9 points or 1.3 percent to 29,82.1 and the S&P 500 declined 13.4 points or 0.9 percent to 1,414.2.
Major European markets ended higher on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index gained 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended sharply lower on Friday, as the dollar continued to strengthen against a basket of major currencies after some upbeat jobs data out of the U.S. Another reason for oil's decline was the persisting demand concerns.
Crude for December delivery plunged $2.23 or 2.6 percent to close at 84.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.