The Australian market has been dragged lower by banking and resource stocks.
Weaker commodity prices overnight and a Goldman Sachs report suggesting Australian bank stocks were too expensive have been blamed for the fall.
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said figures showing Australia’s trade balance fell into the red in July due to flat exports had also contributed to falls in cyclical stocks such as miners.
“It is not surprising as we have managed to outperform US markets by more than six per cent in the last month and are probably not ready really to follow further and punch up higher,” he told AAP.
The major banks all fell following the Goldman Sachs report, with National Australia Bank down 11 cents to $32.48, ANZ had shed 25 cents to $29.52, the Commonwealth Bank had dropped 45 cents to $73.83 while Westpac had fallen most by 46 cents to $31.16.
Global miner BHP Billiton was 44 cents lower at $35.10, Rio Tinto was down 85 cents at $60.99 and iron ore miner Fortescue had dropped two cents to $4.40.
Making news, a company commissioned review of Newcrest Mining’s practices concluded it had not breached continuous disclosure rules in June when brokers downgraded the company before it publicly flagged large writedowns.
Its shares were 8.5 cents up at $13.31.
KEY FACTS
* At 1220 AEST on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 35.5 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,126.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was 32.4 points, or 0.63 per cent, lower at 5,124.1 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was 29 points lower at 5,127 points, with 18,175 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 762.8 million securities worth $1.8 billion.