SYDNEY: The Australian sharemarket traded weaker at noon, although recovered some earlier losses, after indecisive leads from European markets and Wall Street overnight.
At 12.05pm (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 27.8 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 5084.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries declined 25.7 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5118.4 points.
Mixed eurozone manufacturing figures helped send European markets down while Wall Street ended flat after a volatile session.
Australia’s market has logged a wild week of trade, jumping 1.4 per cent on Monday before crashing 3.8 per cent on Tuesday. It then regained the lost ground, rising 3.9 per cent over Wednesday and Thursday.
In economic news, the Housing Industry Association’s August survey showed a seasonally adjusted 2.3 per cent increase in new home sales during the month driven by a strong 3.5 per cent increase in detached house sales but sales of multi-units, or apartments, posted a 1.7 per cent decline.
Meanwhile, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed retail sales rose 0.4 per cent in August, meeting analyst forecasts
The financials led the losses, declining 0.96 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank was off 0.67 per cent to $73.71 while ANZ lost 0.87 per cent to $27.28.
National Australia Bank was down 0.16 per cent to $30.49 while Westpac retreated 1.05 cent to $30.07.
The materials sector was also soft, falling 0.45 per cent despite the price of iron ore rising for the first session after six straight losses.
BHP Billiton lost 0.09 per cent to $22.66 while Rio Tinto gave up 1.62 per cent to $48.775.
