The Australian market is trading weak on Tuesday with investors pressing sales at several key counters amid concerns about the economic impact of Japan's earthquake and Tsunami.
Energy, healthcare, industrial, consumer discretionary and information technology stocks are trading weak. Financial and mining stocks are exhibiting a mixed trend.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,597.5 in early trades, is now down 18.8 points or 0.4 percent at 4,607.6. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 15.5 points or 0.3 percent at 4,694.6, off the day's low of 4,683.2.
On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 index declined 18.4 points or 0.4 percent to 4,626.4, and the All Ordinaries index ended at 4,710.1, recording a loss of 24.7 points or 0.52 percent.
Paladin Energy, Billabong International, Transfield Services, Bluescope Steel, Iluka Resources, Onesteel, Computershare and Qantas Airways are trading lower by 1.3-4 percent.
Meanwhile, Macarthur Coal, Riversdale Mining, Lynas Corp., Boart Longyear, Alumina and Caltex Australia are up in positive territory with impressive gains.
Origin Energy Ltd has announced that will issue A$2.3 billion in new shares to refinance some of the debt used for its recent acquisition of NSW electricity assets. An entitlement offer will allow Origin shareholders to buy one new share for every five currently owned, at a purchase price of A$13 per new share, a 17 percent discount on the last traded price. Origin Energy shares are currently under a trading halt.
Leighton Holdings Ltd shares are trading nearly a percent down after the company's Middle Eastern joint venture won a contract worth A$595 million to build a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
On the economic front, new motor vehicle sales in Australia rose 0.2 percent in February, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said new vehicle sales rose to 84,122 units in February, seasonally adjusted, compared to 83,964 units in January. For the year to January, new motor vehicle sales fell 1.5 percent, seasonally adjusted.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened slightly higher amid rising commodity prices. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$1.0105, up from Monday's close of US$1.0079.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan is down sharply once again, with its benchmark Nikkei going down by nearly 6 percent. Singapore is trading notably lower, while Malaysia, South Korea and New Zealand are down marginally. South Korea, however, is trading in positive territory with notable gains. Markets across the region turned in a mixed performance on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks drifted lower, and despite regaining some ground in afternoon trades, ended mostly on the downside. Concerns about the economic impact of Friday's devastating earthquake and Tsunami in Japan contributed to the weakness in the markets.
The Dow ended down 51.2 points or 0.4 percent at 11,993.2, the Nasdaq drifted down by 14.6 points or 0.5 percent to 2,701 and the S&P 500 ended lower by 7.9 points or 0.6 percent at 1,296.4.
Major European markets ended firmly in negative territory on Monday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 0.9 percent, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index ended lower by 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
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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.