PERTH: The Australian stocks look likely to close the week in the red as weak financials and resource stock declines weigh on the local bourse.
At 12.05pm (AEDT), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index was down 39.7 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 5,810.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 33.5 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 5,782.5.
Quay Equities head of trading, Tristan K’Nell, said investors were likely booking profits after yesterday’s one per cent index surge, with below average volumes in trade at noon.
After pushing the market higher yesterday, the financial stocks were back in the red. “The yield play was definitely not in effect today with the financials giving back some of yesterday’s outperformance,” Mr K’Nell said.
The price of iron ore rebounded off a six-year low overnight, but remains below $US60 a tonne as investors pause after the recent heavy sell-off. The gain wasn’t enough to move the mining stocks into positive territory, with the materials sector weighing on the index at noon, down 0.96 per cent as a sector.
BHP Billiton shed 1.49 per cent to $29.75, while Rio Tinto retreated 0.53 per cent to $57.195.
