SYDNEY: The sharemarket fell more than half a per cent at the open, shrugging off largely upbeat Wall Street leads to focus on news of ANZ’s $3bn capital raising.
At the 10.15am (AEST) official market open, the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index fell 40 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 5634 points, while the broader All Ordinaries shed 0.65 per cent, or 36.6 points, to 5622.9 points.
ANZ has launched a $3 billion capital raising in response to regulatory moves forcing major lenders to provide an extra buffer for their home loan books.
The rest of the big banks were down at the start of trading, and OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said it was a disappointing start to trading, with financials under significant pressure.
“We’re seeing weakness in the banks as shareholders look at the fund ANZ’s capital raising, so that’s undermining the strength of the banks at this stage,” he said.
ANZ also revealed, in its latest unaudited quarterly results, its cash profit was $5.4 billion for the nine months to June 30, an increase of 4.3 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
At 1015am (AEST), Commonwealth Bank was down $1.925 cents at $85.44, National Australia Bank lost 67 cents to $33.67 and Westpac was lower 85 cents to $33.64.
CMC chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said investor enthusiasm in the Asia Pacific region today may also be tempered by lower metals prices and a sour report from Walt Disney that weighed on media stocks and US markets.
“The ongoing slump in commodities will likely reverse yesterday’s gains in the materials sector, kicking out the sole support in Australian trading,” he said.
In local economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases labour force figures for July, while the Financial Services Council’s annual conference continues in Brisbane.
