Australian share prices closed the first day of the new financial year 0.19 percent lower on Monday in quiet trade following a lacklustre lead from Wall Street, dealers said. They said stocks took their lead from Friday's minor retreat on Wall Street with banks particularly under pressure because of fears of further problems in the US sub-prime mortgage lending market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 12.1 points at 6,262.8, off a low of 6,254.6 and a high of 6,290.7, while the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 12.4 points or 0.2 percent at 6,298.2. Turnover was 1.72 billion shares worth 6.04 billion dollars (5.13 billion US) with falls outnumbering rises 670 to 658 and 284 stocks unchanged.
Dealers said banks and major mining stocks had weighed on the market but despite a lack of leads, overall sentiment was positive. "There's been caps on both the upside and downside, and although last week was a bit negative, we seemed to have started this week with that same directionless sentiment," CMC Markets chief analyst David Land said.
"I do remain pretty positive about the market," he added. The major banks were mostly lower. National Australia Bank fell 0.42 dollars to 40.60 dollars, Commonwealth Bank shed 0.57 to 54.68 and ANZ dropped 0.28 to 28.71 but Westpac added 0.19 to 25.85.
The heavyweight resource stocks were mixed with BHP Billiton adding 0.02 to 35.05 on late bargain-hunting while Rio Tinto fell 0.79 to 98.00. Energy stocks failed to build on high oil prices. Woodside Petroleum fell 0.05 to 45.70, Santos lost 0.12 to 13.82 and Oil Search eased 0.04 to 4.16.
The market is expected to react Tuesday to the announcement that supermarket giant Coles Group had accepted a 22 billion dollar buyout offer from conglomerate Wesfarmers, in country's biggest corporate deal. Both stocks were suspended Monday ahead of the announcement.
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