The share market has closed weaker as softer commodity prices hit the big miners and Woolworths delivered disappointing sales growth.
The preliminary weekend release of the worst Chinese manufacturing numbers in five months weighed on iron ore prices and the big miners, OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said.
“We’ve just lost our way throughout the course of the session unfortunately – one of the major catalysts was the China data from the weekend,” he said.
BHP Billiton dropped 25 cents to $33.71 and Rio Tinto shed 63 cents to $59.78.
Iron ore miners suffered the heavy hits, with Fortescue Metals shedding 15 cents, or 4.3 per cent, to $3.35 and BC Iron shedding 10 cents, or 9.3 per cent, to 97.5 cents.
Woolworths lost $1.76, or almost five per cent, to $34.24 after the supermarket giant’s quarterly sales failed to meet market expectations.
“We could almost use the `down down, prices are down’ adage when it comes to those sales numbers,” Mr Le Brun said.
Coles owner Wesfarmers gained one cent to $44.15.
Westpac dropped 23 cents to $34.55 after lifting its full year cash profit by eight per cent to a record $7.63 billion.
“It’s slightly disappointing, in terms of what the street were expecting, but the street’s generally got pretty lofty expectations when it comes to the banks,” Mr Le Brun said, adding investors were also disappointed with a 92 cent per share dividend.
ANZ gained eight cents to $33.58, Commonwealth Bank lifted four cents to $80.52 while National Australia Bank lost 10 cents to $34.89.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 19.7 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 5,506.9 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 20 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 5,485 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was down 25 points at 5,493 points, with 25,958 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1,168.90 per fine ounce, down $US18.40 on Friday’s price of $US1,187.30.
* Final national turnover was 1.4 billion securities worth $3.4 billion.