The Australian share market clawed back some early losses but has still closed more than one per cent lower, chalking up its seventh straight session in the red.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said negative momentum from last week arising from concerns over the strength of China’s economy, plus a weak lead from markets in the United States on Friday, had pushed the local bourse down by as much as 2.2 per cent in morning trading.
“It’s just momentum, I think, spilling over from last week, and a weak US lead has added to market concerns that something is going on, so to speak, indicating a deteriorating situation in China – that appears to be at the heart of it all,” Mr Spooner said.
But he said moves by China’s central bank to strengthen the value of the yuan against the US dollar on Friday and Monday may have temporarily settled market nerves and prompted some investors to pick up beaten-down stocks. That helped the local bourse retrace some losses in afternoon trading.
Mr Spooner said, however, that the market remained volatile and could continue to fall.
The Australian bourse fell for eight sessions in a row in June 2010.
In the resources sector on Monday, global miner BHP Billiton dumped 80 cents, or 4.89 per cent, at $15.55, Rio Tinto dropped $1.40 to $40.50, and Fortescue Metals eased 8.5 cents to $1.64.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum sagged 56 cents to $27.63, and Santos lost 17 cents, or 5.03 per cent, to $3.21.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank fell 78 cents to $78.64, National Australia Bank lost 30 cents at $27.42, ANZ reversed 39 cents to $25.15, and Westpac descended 56 cents to $27.63.
iSelect plunged 43 cents, or 39.09 per cent, to 67 cents after the comparison website sharply cut its full year EBIT guidance to $15-$18 million, from $26 million.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1629 on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 58.6 points, or 1.17 per cent, at 4,932.2 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 58.7 points, or 1.16 per cent, at 4,990.7 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was down 64 points at 4,866 points, with 46,331 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.9 billion securities traded worth $5.1 billion.
