The Australian share market regained some heavy early losses but still closed lower as weakness among the big banks weighed upon the bourse.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said three factors had pulled the market back: ongoing concerns about potential bad debt levels among the major banks; a negative lead from US markets where investors were taking profits; and ongoing weakness in commodity prices.
“There’s no particular news dragging the market down,” Mr Spooner said.
The next major driver was likely to be the upcoming company reporting season in the US, Mr Spooner said.
On the local market, among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank fell 23 cents to $70.76, National Australia Bank dropped 39 cents to $25.13, Westpac lost 34 cents at $28.52, and ANZ declined 34 cents to $22.28.
In the resources sector, global mining giant BHP Billiton was 21 cents lower at $16.18, Rio Tinto climbed 29 cents to $43.26, and Fortescue Metals added nine cents to $2.66.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum eased 13 cents to $24.94, and Santos nudged up one cent to $3.83.
Among other stocks, China Dairy Corporation had a strong start to trading, with the new dairy player’s shares closing at 25 cents on debut – five cents, or 25 per cent, above the issue price of 20 cents.
West Australian prawn fisher and seafood trader Mareterram jumped three cents, or 9.38 per cent, to 35 cents after its biggest shareholder, South Africa’s Sea Harvest, made a proportional takeover offer at 35 cents per share.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1622 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 26.5 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 4,937.6 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 24.1 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 5,018.2 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was down 33 points at 4,912 points, with 28,884 contracts traded, according to preliminary calculations.
* Preliminary national turnover was 1.94 billion securities traded, worth $3.42 billion.
