Australian stocks are trading lower following weakness in international markets.

IG market strategist Evan Lucas said falls on Wall Street and in Europe overnight put Australian stocks on the back foot on Wednesday.

“(I’m) not surprised we’re seeing downward pressure,” Mr Lucas said.

“We saw it last night, we saw it in Europe, we’ve seen it in the US and unfortunately we’re just following suit.”

He predicted Chinese inflation figures to be released on Wednesday would have only a small impact on the market.

Weakness was spread across the market, affecting all sectors at noon.

Among resources stocks, BHP Billiton was down 37 cents to $37.22 while Rio Tinto lost 24 cents to $62.15, Fortescue Metals was down eight cents to $4.38 per share and Woodside Petroleum lost 57 cents to $41.17.

The major banks were also lower, with ANZ down 41 cents to $33.18, while National Australia Bank dropped 30 cents to $33.29, Westpac lost 30 cents to $33.92 and Commonwealth Bank fell 44 cents to $80.88.

Education provider Navitas has been the loser of the day, down $2.27, or more than 30 per cent to $4.77 after losing a major Macquarie University contract.

Shares in James Packer’s Crown were down 14 cents to $15.65, despite passing a major regulatory hurdle for the development of its Barangaroo casino in Sydney.

KEY FACTS

* At 1200 AEST on Tuesday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had lost 52 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 5458.9.

* The broader All Ordinaries index had lost 49.7 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 5448.8.

* The September share price index futures contract was 57 points lower at 5415 with 13,808 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 716 million securities worth $1.46 billion.