PERTH: The Australian stocks has closed weaker as further COMMODITY PRICE
declines put mining and resources stocks under pressure, fuelling volatility.
At the 4.15pm (AEDT) official market close, the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index fell 30.7 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 5,860.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index declined 29 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 5,832.9.
The weakness in the sharemarket follows the declines in prices for crude oil, iron ore and base metals overnight, which weighed on mining and energy shares.
The iron ore spot price for immediate delivery to Tianjin port fell 3.6 per cent at the end of the latest offshore session, as it moves closer toward the $US50 mark.
Macquarie Equities division director Lucinda Chan said the market was drifting with no clear direction, a problem exacerbated by the resources-heavy market.
