KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY - The Australian share market was almost two per cent weaker at open following sharp declines in global markets on Friday amid fears of a worldwide recession.
At 1015 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 69 points, or 1.78 per cent, at 3800.4, while the broader All
Ordinaries lost 64.9 points, or 1.69 per cent, to 3766.7.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index futures contract was 48 points lower at 3829, on a volume of 8,625 contracts.
The banking sector led the early losses.
ANZ shares fell 28 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to A$17.27, National Australia Bank dropped 90 cents, or 3.64 per cent, to A$23.80 and Commonwealth Bank lost A$1.09, or 2.67 per cent, to A$39.75.
Westpac slipped 41 cents lower, or 1.98 per cent, to A$20.25 and St George Bank declined 41 cents, or 1.54 per cent, to A$26.30.
The major miners were mixed, with BHP Billiton gaining 14 cents, or 0.57 per cent, to A$24.52, while rival Rio Tinto dropped 13 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to A$63.97.
US stocks ended last week with a fall amid a panic-driven global market rout.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 312.30 points, or 3.59 per cent, to 8,378.95.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 51.88 points, or 3.23 per cent, to 1,552.03 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 31.34 points, or 3.45 per cent, to 876.77.
CMC Markets senior dealer Dominic Vaughan said investor negativity was impacting on most sectors, particularly the financials.
"The finance sector is coming under a little strain today," he said.
"It's been one of the better performing sectors over the last couple of weeks, so I think there is a little negativity moving back into that sector."
There are signs bargain hunters have entered the market, but general market volatility remains high.
"We are starting to see a little bit of value buying, but it seems to be intraday trading and not longer term buyers," Mr Vaughan said.
"It's hard to put a finger on why any particular stock is being sold off, or bought, at this stage."
The market was likely to take a lead from the Asian markets when they open later in the day, Mr Vaughan said.
The majority of energy stocks were hit hard by a further drop in oil prices on Friday, despite a hefty cut in production by Opec.
Woodside Petroleum was down A$2.16, or 5.51 per cent, at A$37.05, and Oil Search fell 25 cents, or 7.25 per cent, to A$3.20.
Santos bucked the trend to add 44 cents, or 3.81 per cent, at A$12.00.
At 1032 AEDT spot gold was trading in Sydney at USA$733.00 an ounce, up US$23.05 on Friday's close of US$709.95.
Among local gold stocks, Newcrest Mining gained 30 cents to A$17.75, Newmont Mining added 21 cents to A$3.73 and Lihir Gold rose 14.5 cents to A$1.675.
In news today, Media investment company Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH), a 25 per cent stakeholder in Nine Network owner PBL Media, says James Packer has resigned from PBL Media group's boards.
CMH no longer has any representatives on the boards of the PBL Media group, and does not intend to contribute any further funding to PBL Media.
Consolidated Media Holdings fell 10 cents, or 4.95 per cent, to A$1.92.
Media stock, Ten Network lost three cents to A$1.27 and Seven Network gained five cents to A$5.90.
Fairfax lost 3.5 cents to A$1.94, and News Corp gained 40 cents to A$13.50, while its non-voting stock rose 65 cents to A$13.40.
Shares in troubled property company GPT Group plunged 17.5 cents, or 20 per cent, to 70 cents, after resuming trading today.
GPT is seeking to raise at least A$1.6 billion from investors to pay down debt and avoid a firesale of its assets.
Health insurer NIB Holdings says it has rejected an unsolicited offer from an unnamed party that valued the company at up to A$621.44 million.
NIB shares added 10 cents, or 15.38 per cent, to 75 cents.
At 1048 AEDT, the most traded stock by volume was GPT Group, with 39.93 million units changing hands worth A$27.13 million.
Market turnover was 250.7 million shares, valued at A$571.2 million, with 152 stocks up, 571 down and 207 unchanged.
- AAP
