The Australian share market is trading slightly lower as investors take stock after recent gains and wait on Tuesday’s cash rate decision.
The local market was fairly directionless ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s August board meeting Tuesday, and the greater flow of company earnings reports due later this week, IG Markets market strategist Evan Lucas said.
The release of employment figures for July on Thursday would also be a key event for the market, he said.
The local bourse was also easing after a long run upwards.
“It’s a bit of a rest day today,” Mr Lucas said.
The beginning of the official federal election campaign was not a major factor for investors, and disappointing retail figures released on Monday were having a mixed influence on retail stocks, he said.
Woolworths was down 29 cents at $33.28 and Coles owner Wesfarmers was down three cents at $41.04, but Harvey Norman was up 1.5 cents at $2.765 and JB Hi-Fi was up 30 cents at $18.76.
Myer was steady at $2.70 and David Jones was 2.5 cents higher at $2.695.
A big mover on Monday was Virgin Australia, which was down two cents, or 4.4 per cent, to 43.5 cents after it said the difficult economy, competition, the carbon tax and restructuring costs would result in an annual loss of between $95 million and $110 million.
The big four banks were slightly lower, while the resources sector was mixed, with BHP down 10 cents at $35.65 and Rio Tinto up 38 cents at $59.69.
Argo Investments was one cent higher at $6.96 as the investment firm’s annual net profit rose by 4.6 per cent to $175 million.
KEY FACTS
* At 1210 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 11.7 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 5,105.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 10.9 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 5,087.8 points.
* On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was 12 points lower at 5,056 points, with 8,552 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 549 million securities worth $877 million.