The Australian share market has closed lower after worse-than-expected figures for Chinese imports exacerbated concerns that the Chinese economy is weakening.
On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 20.3 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 4,098.0 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 21.9 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 4,137.9 points.
On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was 25 points weaker at 4,065 points, with 22,152 contracts traded.
Lonsec senior client advisor Michael Heffernan said the local bourse’s performance on Tuesday had been listless and was going nowhere in the wake of the latest economic figures to be released by China.
China said the growth rate for its imports fell in June to 6.3 per cent – half the previous month’s level – while exports grew 11.3 per cent, down from 15.3 per cent in May.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that it (Chinese economic data released over this week) is going to be weaker than it has been in the past, but a lot of people need to take a cold shower – China is still growing reasonably well,” Mr Heffernan said.
“But in this environment, everyone is looking for the negative.”
Mr Heffernan also said investors were still nervous about economic stability in Europe and about the becalmed state of the US economy.
On the local bourse, in the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 26 cents lower at $31.22, and Rio Tinto dropped 44 cents to $56.10.
Energy infrastructure investor Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) was steady at $2.38 as Pipeline Partners Australia made a binding $1.23 billion takeover offer for HDF.
Australian company Alumina shed five cents to 70.5 cents after its joint-venture partner Alcoa kicked off the US earnings reporting season by announcing a $US2 million second quarter loss.
Among the major banks, the National Australia Bank stepped back 12 cents to $23.55, ANZ declined 16 cents to $22.34, the Commonwealth Bank sagged 34 cents to $53.44, and Westpac eased four cents to $21.56.
Elsewhere in the financial services sector, Insurance Australia Group scraped off one cent to $3.52 after it said it was working to make its $720 million in investments in Asia profitable as it eyes long-term expansion there.
The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,585.24 per fine ounce, up $US1.515 on Monday’s closing price of $US1,583.725.
National turnover was 1.47 billion shares worth $3.18 billion, with 546 stocks down, 359 up and 350 unchanged.
