The Australian sharemarket has closed weaker for the fifth consecutive day at a seven-week low with investors staying away or moving their money to safer assets.
At the close on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.8 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 4,044.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 10.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 4,115.3, the lowest since October 5.
On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was down 13 points at 4,051, with 29,564 contracts traded.
The Australian bourse actually performed steadily in comparison with offshore markets, with sharper falls in the US and Europe overnight.
Australian investors appear to have lost confidence in equities in general due to how much value had been lost in recent months, said CMC Markets sales trader Ben Taylor.
The most recent bad news involves reports that ratings agency Fitch had suggested that France was in danger of losing its AAA credit rating.
Poor manufacturing activity numbers in China have also spooked markets, with the index at at its lowest level in 32 months, according to banking giant HSBC.
“Six months ago no-one would’ve bothered to look at US bond yields and things like this,” Mr Taylor told AAP.
“I think a lot of people right now are saying this is just too hard, I’m happy to put my money in fixed interest for the time being.
“We’ve got ourselves in a tipping point and we don’t know which way its going to go.
“Either valuation and the yield support will be so great that we’ll see this big rush of money sending the Aussie index back up or you’re just going to have this contagion effect.”
Locally, the major banks mostly fell, except the Commonwealth Bank, which added 33 cents to $46.60.
National Australia Bank lost 13 cents to $22.24, Westpac was off eight cents at $19.75 and ANZ shed nine cents to $19.01.
The major miners posted small gains after metals declined on international markets, following the Chinese manufacturing figures.
BHP Billiton was up two cents at $34.53, and Rio Tinto was up 11 cents at $62.41.
In other news, David Jones shares were dumped after it confirmed its forecast of a 15 to 20 per cent drop in first-half profit after its first-quarter sales fell by 11.2 per cent.
The retailer’s shares fell 16 cents, or 5.4 per cent, to $2.81.
Murchison Metals has agreed to sell its 50 per cent interest in the Oakajee Port and Rail project and Hills iron ore mine to Mitsubishi for $325 million.
Murchison shares surged 14.5 cents, or 52.7 per cent, at 42 cents.
Graincorp shares lifted after it more than doubled annual profit to $171.6 million.
Its shares added 23 cents, or 3.1 per cent, to $7.58.
Engineering giant WorleyParsons announced it had won a $US200 million ($A205.54 million) project management consultancy contract for a refinery in Ecuador.
Its stocks fell 90 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to $25.09.
National turnover was 2.25 billion shares worth $5.36 billion, with two stocks falling for each one that gained.
