The Australian share market has closed slightly lower as weakness among the big banks outweighed strength in the energy and mining sectors.
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said investors were largely in a wait-and-see mode ahead of the US company reporting season, Chinese trade balance figures, US retail sales figures and Australian jobs data later in the week.
Mr Lucas said trading on the local bourse on Monday was more about individual sectors, with the energy sector benefiting from a higher price for oil, but the banks and retailers failing to garner support.
“Energy and materials are having a very good day after oil went ballistic over the weekend,” Mr Lucas said.
“But I’m still concentrating on the financial space. When will the banks either see some love or slow down in their current decline?”
Major bank stocks have been under pressure, with investors nervous about about bad debts and uncertainty around future capital requirements.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank dipped six cents to $70.70, National Australia Bank fell 20 cents to $24.93, Westpac retreated 10 cents to $28.42, and ANZ slipped three cents to $22.25.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton rose 37 cents to $16.55, Rio Tinto gained $1.02 at $44.28, and Fortescue Metals jumped 19 cents to $2.85.
Oil and gas Woodside Petroleum lifted 11 cents to $25.05, and Santos found 12 cents at $3.95.
In the retail sector, Wesfarmers descended 31 cents to $40.02, and Woolworths surrendered 32 cents to $20.82.
Telstra eased one cent to $5.15 as a $1.6 billion deal between Telstra and the company building the national broadband network prompted concern within the competition regulator.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1618 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.1 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 4931.5 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 4.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5013.2 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was down four points at 4908 points, with 20,429 contracts traded, according to preliminary calculations.
* Preliminary national turnover was 2.19 billion securities traded, worth $3.64 billion.
