The Australian share market has opened lower after US markets came off record highs.
The Australian share market has opened lower after US markets came off record highs.
The fall in US shares had driven the Australian market lower, although the federal budget may also be hurting stocks, Lonsec equities research general manager Bill Keenan said.
"There was nothing in particular that brought down the (US) indices. They were just coming off record levels," he said.
"There's just general weakness based on the US lead and perhaps the federal budget, which will be an overall negative for gross domestic production growth moving forward."
A rise in commodity prices overnight helped buffer some mining stocks, he said.
At 1020 AEST, BHP Billiton was nine cents higher at $38.39 while Rio Tinto had shed seven cents to $62.71.
Among the major banks, National Australia Bank had fallen 11 cents to $33.49, and Westpac had lost four cents to $34.16, and ANZ was down nine cents at $33.06. But Commonwealth Bank had gained 25 cents to $81.14.
Telco Optus has announced a 15 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $835 million despite a five per cent fall in revenue to $8.47 billion.
Its shares dropped three cents to $3.24 while Telstra stocks were down two cents to $5.26.
Meanwhile, agricultural giant Graincorp was down nine cents to $8.84 after it said drought conditions had caused its first half profit to tumble.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 101.47 points (0.61 per cent) to 16,613.97.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 8.92 (0.47 per cent) to 1,888.53, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 29.54 (0.72 per cent) to 4,100.63.
KEY FACTS
* At 1030 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.2 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 5,490.3 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 5.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,470.2 points.
* On the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was eight points lower at 5,503 points, with 9,160 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 296.6 million securities worth $632.9 million.
