SYDNEY: The Australian stocks opened largely flat despite a surge on Wall Street overnight following the release of disappointing retail sales figures which bolstered the case for keeping US interest rates low.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 5.2 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5,845 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 3.8 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 5,812.2.
CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner said while the local market could follow Wall Street higher, the early response from local investors to the strong US lead may be restrained by the fact that Asian markets had a significant rally yesterday, meaning the US was to some extent playing catch up.
“The key to today’s trading is likely to be whether there is follow through buying of “yield” stocks like CBA and Telstra which was a big feature of yesterday’s market,” he said.
“The strength of the Australian dollar may be a complicating factor here, potentially making offshore investors a little more cautious about Australian stocks this morning.”
Mr Spooner added that resource stocks were likely to be a soft patch on the local market with lower oil prices and ongoing reaction to disappointing data on China’s economy likely to weigh on investor thinking.
