SYDNEY: The Australian stocks opened almost one per cent lower at the start of the week on the back of a further decline in the iron ore price and sharp falls on Wall Street at the end of last week.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 51.7 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 5,847.2 points while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 50.2 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 5,818.4 points.
The Labor Department said the US economy added 295,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate down two-tenths to 5.5 per cent, the lowest level since May 2008.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said while strong US job growth is good news for economies, it looks like triggering a downward adjustment in stock prices as investors adapt to the increasing likelihood of higher US interest rates.
“The early stage of Fed tightening cycles tends to be bullish for stock markets as growth improves,” he said.
“In this case, however, markets are starting from a high valuation base creating the potential for some ‘froth’ to be knocked off valuations as markets adjust for the possibility of higher US bond yields.”
