BHP, Rio Tinto drag Australian sharemarket lower

THE Australian stock market was down nearly 1 per cent in early trading, dragged lower by BHP and Rio and a weak Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was 26.6 points, or 0.84 per cent, lower at 3127.9. The broader All Ordinaries index lost 24.6 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 3097.1. The big miners were lower, with market leader BHP Billiton down 36c, or 1.24 per cent, at $28.75 and rival Rio Tinto falling 66c, or 1.37 per cent, to $46.84. The banking sector was mostly higher. National Australia Bank was down 10c at $15.93, Commonwealth Bank added 28c to $26.92, ANZ increased 2c to $12.55 and Westpac added 2c to $15.92. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.89 points, or 1.21 per cent, to 6547.05. The S&P 500 lost 6.85 points to 676.53, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 25.21 points, or 1.95 per cent, to 1268.64. “It's going to be a fairly flat day, it could go 20 points either way,” ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said. “We've got a fairly mixed bag today with the resources a little bit lower and not a very exciting lead from America overnight.” Making local headlines today, Telstra said it would begin upgrading its capital cities cable broadband networks, starting with Melbourne. Its stock fell 3c to $3.25. Battery recycling plant operator Hydromet Corp will receive a $3 million cash injection from a share placement to a Chinese company to fund its expansion. Hydromet shares are in a trading halt. They closed at 4.1c yesterday. David Jones is looking to attract a portion of the cash handouts due to be sent to Australian families this week by the federal Government. Its shares were 4c lower at $2.12. Among other retailers, Woolworths fell 37c to $25.34, Coles owner Wesfarmers rose 6c to $16.87, Harvey Norman added 2c to $2.02 and JB Hi-Fi sank 16c to $9.65.