The Australian share market has reversed early gains to finish in the red as investors fret about China and oil prices.
OptionsXpress analyst Ben Le Brun said all markets in the Asia Pacific region had fallen into negative territory on Friday ahead of the release of Chinese economic growth, retail and industrial production data on Tuesday.
“That and the oil price seems to be the sum of all fears,” Mr LeBrun said.
“China’s so very fragile and it underscores the type of year 2016 has been so far.”
Mr Le Brun said there had not been a single catalyst to turn the market around during the trading day.
After lifting 1.7 per cent and surging above the 5,000 mark in morning trade the indices dropped below the 4,900s in the afternoon.
Financial stocks were some of the hardest hit, with National Australia Bank losing 10 cents to $27.01, Westpac fell seven cents to $31.09, ANZ dropped 14 cents to $24.91 and Commonwealth Bank shed 54 cents to $78.88.
The big miners performed well but energy stocks were mixed following a bounce in commodities prices.
Rio Tinto rose 1.7 per cent to $39.51 while BHP Billiton added 1.3 per cent to $15.07 despite revealing a $10 billion write-down on its US oil assets.
Woodside Petroleum shares rose 12 cents to $26.99 but Origin was flat at $4.05.
KEY FACTS:
* At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 16.6 points, or 0.34 per cent, lower at 4,892.8.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 15.6 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 4,948.5.
* The March share price index futures contract was 35 points lower at 4,843, with 39,680 contracts traded.
* At 1615 AEDT, national turnover was 1.8 million securities traded worth $4.5 billion.
