A surge in the Australian dollar has put a dampener on trading on the share market.
Stocks were mostly lower at noon AEST on Thursday, dragged down by the dollar climbing to a four-month high of 81 US cents.
CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said the stronger dollar had wiped out 90 per cent of the previous session’s gains, which were aided by the federal government’s budget.
“The miners are down about 1.4 per cent and that continues to be one of the harder hit areas of the market,” he said.
“The market is relatively edgy. We broke an important support level in recent weeks, with the S&P/ASX200 falling below 5,750 and it hasn’t really been able to go back to those levels.”
BHP Billiton was 59 cents lower at $31.91 at 1215 AEST, while Rio Tinto weakened by $1.19 to $57.83.
The banks were all softer, with Commonwealth Bank down 49 cents at $83.49, Westpac off 46.5 cents at $32.805, National Australia Bank nine cents weaker at $35.56 and ANZ down nine cents at $33.02.
Retailer Myer reversed the stellar gains it made on Wednesday after its latest quarterly sales figures, giving up six cents to $1.495.
Other retail stocks were mixed, after having been bolstered in the previous session by a budget measure to allow asset writeoffs of up to $20,000 for small businesses.
Wesfarmers, which owns Bunnings and Officeworks, added five cents to $44.20 and JB Hi-Fi climbed 12 cents to $21.02.
But Harvey Norman dropped 5.5 cents to $4.565 and Woolworths fell 15 cents to $28.35.
Elsewhere, Qantas continued to soar amid broker upgrades following its announcement earlier in the week that it may soon recommence paying dividends.
Qantas was 18.5 cents stronger at $3.765.
The worst performer in the healthcare sector was ResMed, which plunged $1.53 to $6.72 after warning a trial of one of its sleep disorder therapies increased the risk of fatal heart attacks.
KEY FACTS
* At 1215 AEST on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 42.6 points, or 0.75 per cent, lower at 5,672.5.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 41 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 5,669.8.
* The March share price index futures contract was 36 points lower at 5,669, with 13,828 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.05 billion securities worth $2.4 billion.
