The Australian share market recovered some of its early losses but still closed lower on Tuesday.
The market was led lower in the wake of a sharp fall on United States’ markets, concerns about the Boston bombing, and a continuing drop in commodity prices.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the local bourse had been expected to perform quite badly on Tuesday after events in the US.
The deadly explosions in Boston and disappointing China economic growth rocked US stocks, sending the broad market S&P 500 down more than two per cent.
“Things could have been a lot worse … but it (the Australian market) showed a little bit of resilience,” Mr Le Brun said.
“The market is in watch and wait and see mood.”
Mr Le Brun said Australian investors appeared to be expecting a bounce back in US markets overnight after US investors digested information on the Boston Marathon bombings.
“They might just realise that it (the bombing) is an isolated incident, and it is business as usual tonight – I think that’s the expectation here anyway,” he said.
Mr Le Brun said the Boston Marathon bombings had not been the prime driver of the fall on the Australian market on Tuesday but had come on a day when the news flow had been pretty negative.
He said a major driver of the Australian market was more likely to be lower copper and gold prices, which had affected resources stocks.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 16 cents lower at $32.15.
Rio Tinto shed 11 cents to $54.98 after the company said its global iron ore production increased to 61 million tonnes in the March quarter, up six per cent on the same period last year.
Gold stocks continued to suffer on the back of a falling gold price.
Newcrest fell 92 cents, or 5.13 per cent, to $17.00.
Among the major banks, ANZ lifted seven cents to $28.86, Westpac dipped nine cents to $31.50, National Australia Bank added six cents to $31.83, and Commonwealth Bank sagged 37 cents at $68.14.
Among other stocks, cattle producer Australian Agricultural Company scraped off one cent to $1.165 after it said it would lower the value of its herds partly because continued dry weather had affected domestic cattle prices.
KEY FACTS
* On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 17.1 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 4,950.8 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 22.7 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 4,944.1 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was down 15 points at 4,946 points.
*The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,377.10 per fine ounce, down $US75.80 on Monday’s closing price of $US1,452.90.
* National turnover was 1.78 billion securities worth $4.1 billion.
