The Australian stock market is trading lower on Tuesday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks closed weak overnight following a disappointing report on U.S. manufacturing activity in March. Worries about the situation in Ukraine and recent weak economic data from China are also weighing on sentiment.
Energy, mining, consumer discretionary and industrial stocks are mostly weak. Financial and telecommunications stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is down 24.8 points or 0.5 percent at 5,322.1, coming off a low of 5,310.7. The broader All Ordinaries index, which declined to 5,325.6, is currently trading at 5,335.5, down 26.6 points or 0.5 percent from its previous close.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are down marginally and National Australia Bank is declining 0.6 percent, while Westpac (WBK) is trading flat. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is down 0.5 percent and Bank of Queensland is up 0.2 percent.
Among the top miners, BHP Billiton (BHP) is trading flat, Rio Tinto (RIO) is down 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals is down 1 percent, while Newcrest Mining is down 4.5 percent.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Oil Search and Origin Energy are down 0.5 to 1.3 percent, while Caltex Australia is trading flat.
Myer Holdings is down 4.8 percent. ALS, Bluescope Steel, Regis Resources, Orica, Qantas Airways, Carsales.Com, JB Hi-Fi and Twenty-First Century Fox are down 2 to 3.5 percent.
WorleyParsons, Downer EDI, Asciano, REA Group, Incitec Pivot, Sims Metal Management, Spark Infrastructure Group, Westfield Retail Trust and ResMed Inc. (RMD) are also trading sharply lower.
New Hope Corporation is trading weak following a 67 percent decline in half-year profit.
Among the gainers, David Jones is up nearly 2 percent. Australand shares are up 1 percent following the company upgrading its earnings guidance for 2014.
Shares of internet provider TPG Telecom are up more than 8 percent after the company lifted its half year profit by 15 percent to A$90.1 million. Premier Instruments is also trading more than 8 percent up on strong earnings results.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar rose to a three-month high against the U.S. dollar amid speculation that the Chinese central bank will announce a stimulus to boost its economy. In early trades, the local unit was quoting at US$0.9131, up 0.4 percent from Monday's close of US$0.9090.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly lower on Monday, failing to retain early gains, following a disappointing report from Markit Economics that showed the U.S. manufacturing activity to have declined to a reading of 48.1 in March.
The major averages all ended the day in the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss. While the Nasdaq tumbled 50.4 points or 1.2 percent to 4,226.4, the Dow edged down 26.1 points or 0.2 percent to 16,276.7 and the S&P 500 slid 9.1 points or 0.5 percent to 1,857.4.
Major European markets too closed weak on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index lost 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended higher for a second straight session on Monday, as the dollar weakened against a basket of major currencies with investor focus on developments in Ukraine and the possible disruption in oil supplies from Russia. Weak economic data from China and news of an oil spill at one of the busiest ports in the U.S. which could slow down oil deliveries weighed as well.
Crude for May delivery ended up $0.14 or 0.1 percent at $99.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after scaling a high of $100.29 a barrel intraday.
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Market Analysis
December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.