Further falls in the iron ore price and weak leads from Wall Street are weighing on the Australian share market.
The local market is lower after a solid rise on Tuesday, with bargain hunting buyers and following better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing figures.
But those gains evaporated on Wednesday after weaker than expected European manufacturing data dragged US markets lower overnight and another fall in the iron ore price, Bell Direct equities analyst Leanne Jones said.
“The market is under pressure yet again after a stellar performance yesterday,” she said.
“Contributing factors are weaker leads from overseas markets off the back of disappointing manufacturing data out of the euro zone which has raised concerns about global growth.
“The iron ore price also continued to fall overnight which has put pressure on the materials sector.”
She said adding pressure to financial stocks was the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Financial Stability Review on Wednesday morning which expressed concern about soaring house prices.
Commonwealth Bank shed 82 cents to $76.48, ANZ lost 25 cents to $31.40, Westpac dropped 34 cents to $32.43, and National Australia Bank was down 40 cents at $33.11.
The mining sector was mixed, with Rio Tinto up 54 cents at $60.74 and Fortescue Metals up five cents at $3.71, while BHP Billiton fell 36 cents to $34.59.
In other news, troubled rare earths miner Lynas Corporation has placed its shares in a trading halt as it prepares to reveal details of a new funding deal.
KEY FACTS
* At 1200 AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 37.4 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 5,378.3 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 37.6 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 5,378.3 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was down 38 points at 5,368 points, with 16,731 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 655 million securities worth $1.4 billion.