Australian share prices closed down 0.90 percent on Monday as banking stocks weighed on the market after Wall Street failed to provide a positive lead, dealers said. The benchmark SP/ASX200 dropped 43.6 points to 4,792.8 while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 40.8 points to 4,801.8.
"The financials, energy and materials sectors detracted the bulk of the points as traders rotated a bit of cash towards the more defensive sectors," IG Markets research analyst Ben Potter said. Preliminary national turnover was 2.47 billion shares worth 4.09 billion (3.75 billion US), with 521 stocks closing up, 639 down and 322 remaining unchanged.
Dealers said the downward movement was not surprising given the lack of a positive lead from Wall Street. "I guess a bit of market fatigue coupled with no external lead has led to an easing in the market today," Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said. RBS head of Sydney sales Justin Gallagher said the market "just looks a little tired".
"Wall Street seems to be taking the view that the good news is priced in, so the consolidation everyone has been calling for looks like it's coming," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
The major banks were lower with ANZ taking the biggest plunge, dropping 3.38 percent to 23.73 dollars. Shares in the National Australia Bank lost 2.22 percent to 30.88 dollars, Westpac was down 2.45 percent to 26.30 dollars and the Commonwealth Bank shed 1.39 percent to 54.51 dollars. BHP Billiton dropped 0.31 percent to 39.08 dollars while Rio Tinto fell 0.42 percent to 64.65 dollars.