Australian shares are weaker as traders nervously await the Reserve Bank’s June board meeting minutes, with the big banks and miners suffering losses.
IG market strategist Stan Shamu said investors were regarding a July rate cut as a less likely prospect.
“The market does want a rate cut … If the minutes come out a little more dovish than expected, we’ll probably see the market rally,” he said.
The big banks were all down, with Commonwealth Bank losing 56 cents to $67.91, Westpac dropping 18 cents to $29.29, National Australia Bank shedding 28 cents to $29.64 and ANZ relinquishing 22 cents to $28.23.
The mining giants were mixed, despite a rise in iron ore prices, with BHP Billiton offloading 12 cents to $32.68 but Rio Tinto adding four cents to $53.69.
The shaky start to local trade comes after Japan’s flat opening and a Wall Street rally in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.73 per cent and the broad-based S&P 500 put on 0.76 per cent.
Investors are bracing themselves for news this week on whether the US Federal Reserve will pare its third round of bond buying, known as quantitative easing.
Meanwhile, Elders’ shares have dived 10 per cent, or 0.9 cents, to 8.1 cents, after emerging from a trading halt with a rejection of a takeover bid for its rural services division.
Takeover firm Ruralco’s shares were down three cents to $3.36.
KEY FACTS
* At 1030 AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 25.8 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 4,800.1.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 22.5 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 4,782.5.
* The June share price index futures contract was 27 points lower at 4,802, with 39,941 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 232.5 million securities worth $547.5 million.
