The Australian share market closed firmly in the red on low trading volumes as concern about the eurozone debt crisis continued to weigh on investors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 81.2 points, or 1.91 per cent, at 4,177 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 77.4 points, or 1.79 per cent, at 4,246.7 points.
On the ASX 24 at 1640 AEDT, the December share price index futures contract was 78 points lower at 4,181 points, with 33,728 contracts traded.
RBS Morgans director of equities Bill Chatterton said the local bourse was weaker across the board after a negative overseas lead.
Lower commodity prices, including oil and gold, weighed on the resources sector.
“There’s not really anyone that’s escaped excluding Beach Energy,” Mr Chatterton said.
Shares in Beach, an oil and gas producer, were up 3.5 cents, or 2.65 per cent, at $1.355 after Adelaide Energy backed a takeover offer from its larger peer, which had amassed a stake in the target of more than 71 per cent.
Mr Chatterton said uncertainty regarding Europe, particularly Greece and Italy, was weighing heavily on the market.
“Economic activity in the US is looking better but that’s being overshadowed by what’s happening in Europe,” he said. “The modest volumes reflect the malaise,” Mr Chatterton said.
National turnover was 1.7 billion shares worth $4.1 billion, with 345 shares finishing up, 663 down and 349 steady.
Market heavyweight BHP Billiton was down 91 cents, or 2.46 per cent, at $36.13 while Rio Tinto backtracked $1.02, or 1.5 per cent, to $67.05 after increasing its offer for Canadian junior uranium explorer Hathor Exploration to $636 million.
In the energy sector, Woodside eased 28 cents to $34.95 while Santos shed 26 cents, or 1.98 per cent, to $12.88.
Santos said it would not sell its 40 per cent held Barossa and Caldita gas fields in the Timor Sea and would instead use them to feed the Darwin liquefied natural gas plant.
In other headlines on Friday, Telstra said strong and profitable growth in mobile and broadband customer numbers would offset a higher than expected fall in revenue from its Sensis business in the current financial year.
The telco also said it could reach agreement with regulators over its participation in the national broadband network before the end of the year.
Telstra shares were down five cents, or 1.57 per cent, at $3.14.
The big four banks did not escape the sell off.
National Australia Bank fared the worst, down 3.62 per cent at $23.46, while ANZ slid 2.53 per cent lower to $20.06.
Westpac was 2.3 per cent cheaper at $20.37 and Commonwealth Bank was 1.81 per cent lower at $47.73.
The worst performer in the S&P/ASX 100 index was mineral sands miner Iluka Resources, down almost eight per cent at $15.74, while the standout was Monadelphous after it won construction contracts in Australia and Papua New Guinea worth $140 million.
Monadelphous shares were 18 cents firmer at $19.30.
AAP
