The Australian stock market is trading weak on Thursday with investors pressing sales at several counters, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks tumbled overnight amid doubts about further stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Financial, consumer staples, industrial and property trusts stocks are trading weak, while mining, energy and healthcare stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is down 55 points or 1.1 percent at 5,110.4. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 5,087, down 55.1 points or 1.1 percent from its previous close.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank is down 2.5 percent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia is trading 1.6 percent down, National Australia Bank is declining by 1.5 percent and Westpac (WBK) is down with a loss of 2.2 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are down 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) are trading flat. Fortescue Metals is down marginally, while Newcrest Mining is down with a loss of 2.8 percent.
SP Ausnet, Cochlear, Lynas Corp., Downer EDI and Seek are trading lower by 3 to 5 percent. Regis Resources, Stockland, Mirvac Group, Transurban Group, Sydney Airport, Adelaide Brighton, GPT Group and Commonwealth Property Office Fund are down 2 to 2.8 percent.
Meanwhile, QBE Insurance Group shares are up nearly 6 percent. PanAust is trading higher by nearly 4 percent and News Corp. (NWS, NWSA), the other prominent gainer, is up by about 2.5 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened weak and declined to a one-year low against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the local unit was quoted at US$0.9662, down 1.2 percent from Wednesday's close of US$0.9782.
On Wall Street, stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday, with renewed worries about the Federal Reserve tapering its asset purchase program contributing to the pullback.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but still ended the day firmly negative. The Dow closed down 80.4 points or 0.5 percent at 15,307.2, the Nasdaq tumbled 38.8 points or 1.1 percent to 3,463.3 and the S&P 500 slid 13.8 points or 0.8 percent to 1,655.4.
Major European markets ended higher on Wednesday. While the German DAX index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index gained 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil snapped a four-day gain to end sharply lower on Wednesday, after a weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles to have dropped lesser than expected, while gasoline stocks rose more than expected.
Crude for July delivery plunged $1.90 or 2 percent to close at $94.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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