(RTTNews) - The Australian market ended sharply lower in the negative territory on Monday, mirroring the big slump in Wall Street on Friday amid concerns about economic recovery. Weakness in commodity prices also contributed to the weak sentiment as traders preferred to offload stocks and move to sidelines for further cues on global economy.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index fell 102.80 points, or 2.21% to close at 4,540, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,546, representing a loss of 100.60 points, or 2.16%.

On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that house prices in the country rose 4.2% during the third quarter, compared to a decline of 1.5% in the preceding second quarter. On annual basis, house prices rose 6.2% during the third quarter, following a 1.4% contraction in the previous quarter.

In a separate report, TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute revealed that the annual inflation gauge rose 1.2% during October after having risen 1.3% in the previous month. On a month-over-month basis, the inflation gauge slipped 0.3% in October after remaining steady in the previous two months.

The Reserve Bank of Australia, in a statement, revealed that commodity price index in SDR terms rose 0.7% month-on-month in October, after remaining unchanged in September. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell 3.7% in October, following a 2% decrease in September.

The Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index stood at a seasonally adjusted 51.7 in October, down slightly from 52.0 in September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 suggests contraction. Six of the twelve sub-sectors including transport equipment, basic metal products, construction materials, clothing & footwear, textile and miscellaneous manufacturing, expanded in October.

Light sweet crude oil futures for December delivery ended at $77.49 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.49 per barrel from previous close at $77.00 a barrel in New York on Friday.

Almost all the sectors ended in negative territory mirroring the weak closing in Wall Street on Friday amid fresh concerns about economic recovery.

Metals and mining stocks declined sharply on weak commodity prices in the international market. BHP Billiton declined 1.98%, Rio Tinto fell 1.55%, Fortescue Metals lost 3.38%, Gindalbie Metals shed 3.95%, Iluka Resources decreased 2.29% and Oz Minerals plunged 3.75%.

Among gold stocks, Lihir Gold edged down 0.33%, Newcrest Mining slipped 0.58% and Sino Gold Mining fell 1.50%.

Oil stocks also ended in negative territory following sharp drop in crude oil prices in the international market. Santos fell 1.99%, Oil Search declined 0.85% and Origin Energy shed 0.68%. However, Woodside Petroleum bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with a gain of 1.13% after the company announced that it would sell its stake in the Otway Gas Project to joint venture partner Origin Energy for a consideration of A$715 million.

Among the banks, National Australia Bank was a major loser, having lost 3.18%, after the bank revealed that it concluded the purchase of 80.1% stake in Goldman Sachs JBWere’s private wealth management business. ANZ Bank fell 2.04%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 2.56% and Westpac Banking Group shed 2.96%. Investment banker Macquarie Group slumped 4.90%.

Retail stocks also ended in negative territory. The first day in market for Myer, department store operator, which is re-entering the market from today, was not good, having found itself in the wave of selling spree. The stock, which listed at A$4.10 in the morning, lost 8.54% and ended at A$3.75, amid huge volumes.

Among other retail stocks, David Jones declined 2.05%, Harvey Norman fell 2.26%, JB Hi-Fi lost 2.40%, Wesfarmers slumped 3.17% and Woolworths slipped 1.33%.

In the U.S., stocks saw a sharp pullback on Friday, as a batch of mixed economic data raised questions regarding the economic recovery. The major averages all closed in negative territory by substantial margins, more than offsetting the strong gains posted in the previous session. The Dow closed down by 249.85 points or 2.5% at 9,713, the Nasdaq fell by 52.44 points or 2.5% to 2,045 and the S&P 500 slipped by 29.92 points or 2.8% to 1,036.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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