PERTH: The Australian stock market opened lower on Tuesday, reflecting weakness in resources and financial stocks. The negative lead overnight from Wall Street and European markets also weighed on investor sentiment.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is declining 19.20 points or 0.36 percent to 5,257.20, off a low of 5,229.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 19.40 points or 0.36 percent to 5,307.10.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton is losing 1.7 percent, Rio Tinto is down 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is lower by more than 3 percent amid lower iron ore prices overnight.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is down 0.4 percent, while Evolution Mining is adding 0.8 percent.
Among oil stocks, Santos is adding 0.6 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is lower by 0.7 percent and Oil Search is declining 0.5 percent.
In the banking sector, ANZ Banking is edging up 0.04 percent, while Westpac is down 0.3 percent, National Australia Bank is declining 0.5 percent and Commonwealth Bank is lower by 0.02 percent.
Surfwear retailer Billabong International reported that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA for the first four months of 2016 was down from the prior-year period due to a lower Australian dollar and weakness in North America. The company’s shares are losing more than 17 percent.
Private equity firms TPG and Carlyle Group are selling their stake in private hospital operator Healthscope. Shares of Healthscope are lower by more than 6 percent.
Shares of Transurban Group are in a trading halt after the toll-road operator announced an A$1.025 billion equity raising to help fund its A$1.87 billion acquisition of Brisbane’s AIrportLinkM7 tunnel.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7186, up from US$0.7177 on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance on Monday before ending the session modestly lower as many traders stuck to the sidelines on the heels of the volatility seen over the past few weeks. The Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday and the unofficial Black Friday holiday also kept some traders away from their desks.
