The Australian share market closed lower, hurt by energy, mining and banking companies.
Energy players, including Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search, Origin Energy led the falls after crude oil prices fell nearly six per cent as oil-rich nations failed to reach an agreement on freezing production at a summit in Doha, Patersons Securities economist Tony Farnham said.
“Nothing came out of it, Iran didn’t even bother going to it.
“So as a result, the prospects of an output freeze over an extended period is very much in doubt,” Mr Farnham said.
Many investors had hoped an agreement would help support the recent rally in prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4 per cent lower after major international markets closed lower on Friday.
Woodside Petroleum closed 36 cents lower at $25.78, Oil Search fell 28 cents to $6.22 and Santos fell 29 cents to $3.88.
Mining giant BHP Billiton, which now has a major component of its business in oil, closed 58 cents lower at $18.70.
Rio Tinto fell 75 cents to $47.45 after iron ore prices retreated from the $US60 a tonne level. Citi also cut its rating on Rio Tinto to sell from neutral, according to Mr Farnham.
The big four banks also lost ground amid investor concerns about their exposure to the Australian and New Zealand property market following a recent report by the central bank which warned of an apartment glut, Mr Farnham said.
Real estate group McGrath also issued a profit warning, reporting a sharp fall in listings in Sydney’s north and north western suburbs.
Concerns also linger about the banking sector’s exposure to mining and energy.
Three of the nation’s big four banks are scheduled to report their financial results in early May.
The Commonwealth Bank closed 82 cents lower at $74.18, Westpac dropped 46 cents to $30.44, ANZ fell 15 cents to $23.70 and National Australia Bank closed 21 cents lower at $26.55.
Qantas dropped 44 cents, or 10.84 per cent, to $3.62 after abandoning plans to add more flights because of soft customer demand and confidence.
Bucking the trend was Telstra on hopes the company will return some money to shareholders after selling the bulk of its stake in Chinese online carsales group Autohome for $US1.6 billion ($A2.08 billion). Telstra closed nine cents higher at $5.33.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1626 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 20.4 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,137.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 19.2 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 5,204.9 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was down 19 points at 5,126 points, with 31,562 contracts traded, according to preliminary calculations.
* Preliminary national turnover was 3.18 billion securities traded, worth $4.96 billion.