Australian stocks take negative start, S&P 200 sheds 1.9pts

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SYDNEY: The Australian stocks started lower with the weaker Australian dollar dipping to buoy shareholders appetite, as worlds markets come out from the joyful break.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 1.9 points, or 0.03 per cent, lower at 5,434, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 1 point, or 0.02 per cent, at 5,414.
CMC Markets sales trader Tony Kwok said trading was likely to be mixed during the session as markets recover from the holiday break.
“There is not much of a lead from overseas markets with the major world indices showing only marginal gains or losses,” he said.
However, the Australian dollar may boost the local market, after falling to near 5-year lows overnight, he said.
“The lower exchange rate may attract overseas investors looking to buy value stocks,” he said.
Materials weighed most heavily on the local market, giving up 0.57 per cent.
BHP Billiton retreated 1.02 per cent to $29.24, while rival Rio Tinto lost 0.81 per cent to $57.86.
Financial also retreated, falling 0.19 per cent as a sector.
ANZ lost 0.43 per cent to $32.09, while Commonwealth Bank retreated 0.21 per cent to $85.56.
National Australia Bank shed 0.27 per cent to $33.47 while Westpac retreated 0.33 per cent to $33.16.
Bank of Queensland fell 0.57 per cent after appointing Jon Sutton as its new chief executive officer.The weakness was offset by a 0.88 per cent rally in energy stocks.
Santos added 1.22 per cent to $8.29, while Woodside Petroleum gained 0.34 per cent to $38.26.
Oil Search rose 1.65 per cent to $8.02, while Beach Energy lifted 1.67 per cent to $1.0675.
Uranium miner Paladin rejected media reports originating from Malawi suggesting the group’s Kayelekera Mine had begun dumping waste into the local river system, saying that no treated water had been released to-date. Shares dipped 1.35 per cent to 36.5c, after it responded to media criticism, against a resurgent energy sector.
Consumer staples added 0.14 per cent as a sector.