Miners, banks drag domestic market down
Posted
Bad day: The market has reversed August's gains this week. (AAP: Dean Lewins, file photo)
The Australian share market has reversed August's gains this week.
The All Ordinaries has closed down 101 points to 4,950 and the ASX 200 has dropped 2.1 per cent to 4,877.
There has been deep falls in the banking sector, after US financial stocks dived overnight.
National Australia Bank has shed 4.3 per cent to $23.60.
The miners have also had a rough day.
Fortescue Metals Group has lost 7.3 per cent to $6.39 - it is at the lowest level since March.
But resource stocks have had a good showing in the latest reshuffle by Standard and Poors of its ASX indices.
Seventy-five per cent of inclusions to the ASX 300 this quarter were mining stocks.
But the credit crunch has taken its toll in other sectors.
ABC Learning is out of the top 100, and Centro and Allco are out of the top 200.
There has been the second fatality in a fortnight at BHP Billiton's Yandi mine in the Pilbara.
A 19-year-old man died yesterday afternoon in an accident between a haulage truck and a light vehicle.
BHP has suspended all of its WA iron ore operations and its shares have fallen one-third of a per cent to $37.
The corporate regulator ASIC has announced it will not be taking any criminal action against former directors and company officers of James Hardie who allegedly broke company law over compensation to asbestos victims - but their civil trial is due to start in about three weeks.
James Hardie shares have fallen 1.8 per cent to $4.91.
The Australian dollar has fallen nearly two cents against the greenback from yesterday's close.
About 5:20pm AEST it was buying 81.78 US cents, 46.48 UK pence, 87.28 Japanese yen and 57.19 euro cents.
West Texas crude oil was worth $US107.99 a barrel.
Spot gold was fetching $US798.60 an ounce.
