The Australian sharemarket has continued to lose ground following the release of weaker-than-expected inflation figures.
At 1200 AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 24.7 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 4,108.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 24 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 4,137.2.
On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was down 17 points at 4,068, with 15,610 contracts traded.
Gloomy overnight leads from Europe and the US overshadowed local data showing Australia’s annual inflation rate rose slightly less than the market had expected.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed Australia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, for an annual rate of 1.2 per cent, down from 1.6 per cent for the year.
It was expected to rise by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter for an annual rate of 1.3 per cent, according to an AAP survey of 16 economists.
The figure is well below the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target range of between two and three per cent.
RBS Morgans Brisbane equities director Bill Chatterton said the market was shrugging off the possibility of an official interest rate cut.
“If inflation is low, it should give the RBA the capacity to decrease interest rates, and that’s good for the sharemarket – but that line of thinking is not really at play today.”
The mining giants continued their losses, with BHP Billiton shedding 13 cents to $30.80, while Rio Tinto lost 90 cents to $50.86.
OZ Minerals lost 11.5 cents to $7.41 after announcing its copper and gold production was lower in the June quarter compared to the previous three months.
Iron ore miner Atlas Iron dropped two cents, or more than one per cent, to $1.73 despite posting on-guidance shipments of 1.5 million tonnes during the June 2012 quarter, up 25 per cent on the March quarter.
The four major banks were also weaker with Westpac 24 cents lower at $22.38, ANZ down 26.5 cents to $22.48, National Australia Bank giving up 12 cents to $23.54 and Commonwealth Bank shedding 34 cents to $54.44.
Investors punished Macquarie Group after it posted a stronger operating group performance in the first quarter of the 2013 financial year compared to the same period in 2012.
Its shares fell 49 cents to $23.81.
Meanwhile, APA Group lost four cents to $4.95 after it increased its takeover offer for Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund to $2.525 per stapled security.
National turnover was 505 million securities worth $1.3 billion, with 250 stocks up, 389 down and 545 unchanged.
