PERTH: The Australian sharemarket is seeing a third straight day of subdued trading, as the benchmark index remains stuck below the 5,700 point psychological level.
The local market has lost steam after posting its strongest week since early February as it regained ground lost in the wake of China’s stockmarket plunge and the Greek debt deadline.
Today the market opened fractionally higher following gains on US and European markets after Greece made loan repayments to creditors and reopened its banks.
At 12.05pm (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 gained 0.9 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 5,687.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index added 1.1 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 5,670.1.
In offshore trade, US stocks rose slightly, with the Dow and the S&P 500 eked out minor gains, while Nasdaq Composite rose for a third straight record close.
On the local market, mining stocks were holding back the index from further gains, after continued softness in the commodities markets.
Gold slid to a five-year low, weighed down by the US dollar’s relentless gains on rate hike expectations. Bloomberg’s commodity index slumped to a 13-year low yesterday.
However, the price of iron ore surged clear of the $US50 mark in offshore trade, climbing almost 4 per cent as its recovery from a 10-year low continues apace.
Materials lost 1.02 per cent as a sector. BHP sank 1.59 per cent to $26.56 and Rio Tinto shed 1.73 per cent to $52.94, while Fortescue bucked the trend, gaining 0.57 per cent to $1.755.
Financials firmed 0.14 per cent. ANZ gained 0.4 per cent to $32.95, Commonwealth Bank dipped 0.49 per cent to $87.93, NAB added 0.96 per cent to $34.77 and Westpac lifted 0.38 per cent to $34.73.
