SYDNEY: The Australian stocks closed weaker as slumping commodity prices weighed on the resources sector while strong US jobs data increased speculation that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising rates.
At the 4.15pm (AEDT) official market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 77.6 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 5,821.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 75.6 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 5,793 points.
The decline continued a shift in momentum after the market finished the trading week in the red on Friday, ending a run of six higher weekly gains.
“After its significant outperformance in February, today marks the first day of heavy selling after seeing minimal losses over the past two weeks,” Quay Equities head of trading Tristan K’Nell said.
Miners tumbled after iron ore slumped for a fifth straight red session at the end of last week amid a streak that has seen the price lose 10.7 per cent in just 10 trading days.
Immediate delivery iron ore to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US58.20 a tonne at the end of the week, down 1.9 per cent from the previous close of $US59.30 a tonne.
Wall Street set a negative tone, slumping on Friday as a strong US jobs report raised expectations the Fed will soon lift interest rates.
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.
The strength of the jobs growth looks likely to affect the Fed’s thinking on the timing of its move to lift rates, CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said.
