The Australian share market has given away intraday gains to close lower as investors await further developments on the Greek debt crisis and look for other leads to provide direction.
IG chief market strategist Chris Weston said the local bourse had drifted away late in the session as some investors took profits.
“The market’s in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment. We’re waiting to see what is happening with the Greek situation,” Mr Weston said.
Mr Weston said investors seemed to be content for now with the market around the 5,500 point level.
“We probably need to see a really big new catalyst other than the macro concerns: Greece and China clearing up. US earnings season could help.”
Despite marathon talks involving Greece and eurozone leaders on Monday there is still no agreement on a debt reform deal to keep Greece in the euro zone.
In China, the share market has continued its recovery from weeks of volatility as several firms resumed trading. Also, mixed economic data showed a pick-up in China’s export growth, but two-way trade fell in the first half of the year.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 24 cents lower at $26.41, Rio Tinto eased 54 cents to $51.53, and Fortescue Metals Group fell nine cents to $1.725.
Among the major banks, ANZ was off 35 cents at $31.90, Commonwealth Bank reversed 61 cents to $85.18, National Australia Bank dropped 19 cents to $32.88, and Westpac retreated 14 cents to $32.96.
Research released by APRA on Monday found that Australia’s big four banks would need to lift their capital reserve levels by about one sixth in order to meet a key recommendation of the Financial Systems Inquiry.
Telstra rose two cents to $6.23, and health insurer Medibank Private dipped two cents to $2.07.
KEY FACTS
* At 1618 AEST on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 18.8 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 5,473.2 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 17.7 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 5,460.4 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was down 32 points at 5,405 points, with 32,195 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.37 billion securities worth $3.7 billion.
