The Australian share market is lower as investors sell out of the major banks.
CMC markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said Westpac, which was trading ex-dividend on Monday, was the biggest drag on the bourse.
“Bank ex-dividends are part of the explanation of today’s underperformance – Westpac itself accounting for around thirteen-and-a-half points of the market’s fall,” Mr McCarthy said.
Mr McCarthy said the banking sector had generally performed well on Friday despite the ANZ and National Australia Bank trading ex-dividend on the day.
“That might have been a little bit of short-term exuberance that appears to be working itself out of the market today,” he said.
At 1200 AEDT, Westpac had lost $1.255, or 3.6 per cent, to $33.585, ANZ had dropped 52 cents to $32.36, National Australia Bank had dumped 27 cents at $32.95, and Commonwealth Bank was off 55 cents at $82.21.
In the resources sector, higher commodity prices helped lift global miner BHP Billiton 25 cents to $34.74, Rio Tinto was up 49 cents at $61.19, and Fortescue Metals had gained eight cents at $3.23.
Ten jumped one cent to 28 cents after American media giant Time Warner reportedly approached the TV broadcaster with a $680 million takeover offer.
Telco group Vocus dipped five cents to $5.69 after it and merger target Amcom agreed to open their books to each other as they ponder a possible $1 billion tie-up.
Amcom nudged up one cent to $2.40.
Casinos operator Crown Resorts firmed one cent to $14.16 after news that banker Robert Rankin would be the new chief executive of James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings which holds a 50.1 per cent stake in Crown.
On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indices edged to fresh records after the US economy added 214,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell.
KEY FACTS
* At 1207 AEDT on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 37.7 points, or 0.68 per cent, lower at 5,511.4 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 32.2 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 5,489.9 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was 28 points lower at 5,525 points, with 13,681 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 728.87 million securities worth $1.62 billion.
