Commodity price weakness has pushed the Australian share market lower as the big miners suffered sizeable falls.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said falls in the resources sector had led the market down as the iron ore price hit a fresh decade low.
“It’s not surprising given commodities prices,” Ms Lee said.
The first shipment of iron ore from Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore project was delayed because of commissioning and safety issues.
Ms Lee said the extra supply coming into the market was weighing on the iron ore price.
The world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton lost 56 cents, or three per cent, to $18.19 and Rio Tinto dropped 96 cents, or two per cent, to $45.59.
Steep oil price falls also affected key players, with Woodside Petroleum down $1.16, or 3.8 per cent, to $29.46, Origin Energy fell 10 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $5.55 and Oil Search was down 18 cents, or 2.2 per cent to $8.10.
Three of the big four banks were weaker, with ANZ down nine cents to $27.81, Westpac 19 cents lower at $32.91, Commonwealth 26 cents lower at $81.50 but the NAB was up four cents at $30.04.
On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 1.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 per cent.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 30.6 points, or 0.58 per cent, lower at 5,227.7.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 28.0 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 5,276.7.
* On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 53 points lower at 5,225, with 19,164 contracts traded.
* At 1615 AEDT, national turnover was 2.5 billion securities worth $5.5 billion.
