Australian shares have got off to a weak start as investors count profits after recording the market’s best week in nearly four years.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was trading down 0.6 per cent in early trade, with banks, energy and mining stocks among the laggards.
“This is no big surprise. We had a very good week, and now some money is being taken off the table,” said Steven Daghlian, market analyst at CommSec.
Last week, a stronger Aussie dollar, jump in iron ore and oil prices, and strong overseas gains buoyed the market to weekly gains of 4.3 per cent.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial advanced 0.20 per cent, capping a strong week for US stocks as investors grew more confident that the US Federal Reserve’s dovish monetary policy will persist.
Meanwhile, in the local market, energy and mining stocks were under pressure on Monday.
Woodside Petroleum slipped 64 cents to $31.97, Santos was down 24 cents to $5.73, while Origin Energy lost 29 cents at $6.21.
Stay informed, daily
Shares in BHP Billiton were down 34 cents to $25.26, while rival Rio Tinto declined 55 cents to $54.63. However, shares in gold miners Newcrest and Evolution bucked the trend to trade higher.
Shares in the big four banks were all trading between 0.5 per cent to one per cent lower.
Transurban shares were up six cents to $9.92 after the toll road operator lifted September quarter revenue 17 per cent, helped by a big increase in traffic on it’s Sydney and Brisbane routes.
– AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
