The Australian share market remained cautious on Thursday, after Wall Street finished slightly higher in overnight trade despite further disappointing data.
At 1615 AEST on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 56.3 points at 4,278.5 while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 55.4 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 4,352.9.
US stocks closed flat to higher in overnight trade, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended an eight-day losing streak. The Dow average of 30 blue-chip stocks rose 29.82 points (0.25 per cent) to settle at 11,896.44.
The broader S&P 500 climbed 6.29 points (0.5 per cent) to 1,260.34, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 23.83 points (0.89 per cent) to 2,693.07.
Burrell Stockbroking adviser Jamie Elgar said traders were being cautious on continued fears about global growth.
Overnight, a pair of reports suggested that the US economy was faltering. Payrolls firm ADP reported that a net 114,000 jobs were created by private, non-farm businesses in the United States in July, fewer than in June but better than analysts had expected.
As well, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 52.7 last month, indicating that the US service sector hardly grew in July.
“The last few days have been pretty dire, to say the least, and most people have been looking overseas for the cue,” Mr Elgar said. “It is positive that Wall Street snapped that eight day losing streak… It was almost going back to GFC territory.”
