The share market is lower as traders take a cautious approach ahead of the US corporate reporting season, and amid instability in Ukraine.
America’s biggest bank, JP Morgan, missed its profit estimates by almost four per cent last week, which has prompted falls by local banking stocks.
IG market strategist Stan Shamu said the threat of civil war in Ukraine and the possibility of poor quarterly economic growth numbers from China this week added to the negative sentiment, only days after the local market hit near six-year highs.
“It’s really concerning to see investors just shying away from equities in this short term trading week,” he told AAP.
“They need a bit of justification to keep the rally going, otherwise there is always going to be a temptation for investors to take profits.”
Among the banks, ANZ was down 23 cents at $33.62, Westpac was down 18 cents at $34.48, National Australia Bank had dropped 25 cents to $35.08 and Commonwealth Bank was 48 cents weaker at $76.88.
Coca-Cola Amatil continued to fall after Friday’s announcement of a 15 per cent profit downgrade, dropping another 53 cents, or 5.44 per cent, to $9.21.
Some investors were seeking respite in the gold sector, where gains were led by Newcrest Mining, which had added 10 cents to $10.85.
KEY FACTS
* At 1225 AEST on Monday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 28.1 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 5,400.5 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 29.9 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 5,393.6 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was 23 points lower at 5,391 points, with 16,519 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 500 million securities worth $1.1 billion.
