The Australian sharemarket has fallen again this morning, after the positive impact of increasing commodity prices was offset by the weak performance of Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark ASX/S&P 200 index was down 13.5 points or 0.4% to 3783.40 at 12 noon AEST.
The Australian dollar, which has fallen sharply in recent days rose to US79c as the American dollar was sold off.
Westpac shares dropped 1.3% in morning trade to $18.97, after the head of its institutional banking division, Phil Chronican, announced he would leave after 27 years with the bank.
NAB shares fell 1.8% to $21.29, while BHP Billiton lost 1% to be at $33.47. The biggest winner of the morning was Queensland banking and insurance company Suncorp Metway, which rose 3.4%.
But shares in Spotless Group fell almost 9% to $2.08, while shares in Linc Energy fell 7.5% to $1.13.
Overseas, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% on news that the launch of Boeing’s new Dreamliner would be delayed.
Investors’ confidence may have also been shaken by some downbeat comments from US president Barack Obama, who said in a news conference that “it’s pretty clear” the nation’s unemployment rate will rise above 10%.
He also noted that economies often recover before the jobs market “and we’re still not at actual recovery”.
There was also more sobering economic news out of Europe. Consumer spending in France fell by a larger amount than expected in May, while a German purchasing managers’ index showed the rate of contraction in the private sector had actually accelerated in June.
Given all this market volatility, it’s hardly surprising that Australians have shifted their money out of direct share ownership in the last two years. A new survey from the Australian Stock Exchange shows that 41% of the adult population own shares, well down from the 46% when the survey was last taken in 2006.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
