The Australian share market has opened lower over renewed jitters about the euro zone, following a bailout deal for Cyprus.
IG Markets market strategist Stan Shamu said the Australian market had opened in a pretty sombre mood.
Markets overseas had initially opened higher following euphoria over a bailout deal for Cyprus but reversed direction soon after.
“There are concerns that the deal that Cyprus managed to get through will ultimately set a precedent for other bailouts in Europe,” Mr Shamu said.
“This will continue to unravel as people realise how big the haircuts are for this bailout and what it might mean for other periphery nations going forward.”
In the United States on Monday, stocks fell after a top European finance official suggested the Cyprus bailout framework could serve as a template for other European bank crises.
Under the deal reached early on Monday in Brussels, Cyprus agreed to reduce its oversized banking sector and inflict hefty losses on big depositors in troubled banks to secure the 10 billion euro bailout.
The bailout allows for most of the funds to be raised by forcing losses on accounts of more than 100,000 euros in Laiki and Bank of Cyprus, with the rest coming from tax increases and privatisations.
On the local market in the resources sector at 1027 AEDT, global miner BHP Billiton was 31 cents lower at $33.09, and Rio Tinto lost $1.05 to $57.20.
Among the major banks, ANZ dipped 15 cents to $28.68, Westpac backtracked 23.5 cents to $30.775, Commonwealth Bank dumped 33 cents to $68.67, and National Australia Bank slipped six cents to 26 cents at $30.79.
Adventure clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu improved 5.5 cents to $2.02 as it defied difficult retail conditions to post a hefty rise in first half profit.
On Wall Street in the US on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.28 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 14,447.75 points.
KEY FACTS
* At 1032 AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 27.5 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 4,962.7 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 26.1 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 4,975.4 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was 37 points lower at 4,967 points, with 10,030 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 285.8 million securities worth $295.7 million.
