Australian shares in weak start to 2018 trade

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.8 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 6,061.3 points at 1630 AEDT. Photo / AAP

Australian shares have ended the first day of trade for 2018 slightly lower, dragged down by soft financial stocks amid weak trading volumes and an absence of overseas leads.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.8 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 6,061.3 points at 1630 AEDT, with light trading following the extended closure of global markets for the new year holiday.

Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos said low market activity is normal for the time of year.

"The Asian markets are doing better than we are - Hong Kong and Shanghai are both more than one per cent higher - so once again, we are the stand out underperformer," Mr Lakos said.

The major banks dragged the index lower, with ANZ down 16 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $28.58.

Westpac was down 10 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $31.25; Commonwealth Bank was poorer by 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $80.22; and National Australian Bank was flat at $29.58.

"Obviously a soft start but it's not reflective of anything negative or sinister out there - it was just a quiet day," Mr Lakos said.

Local utilities and telco stocks delivered the session's strongest performances with Telstra ahead by 0.8 per cent and AGL Energy up 0.7 per cent.

Origin Energy and Santos were 0.2 per cent higher, and Woodside Petroleum gained 0.3 per cent as oil prices continued to rebound.

Rio Tinto and gold miner Newcrest led the materials sector with gains of 0.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively, while BHP Billiton was ahead by 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, with stronger than expected manufacturing data out of China, a resilient Australian dollar rose against its weakened US counterpart.

The local currency was trading at 78.39 US cents at 1630 AEDT on Tuesday, up from 78.03 on Friday.

ON THE ASX AT 1630 AEDT:

• The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 3.8 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 6,061.3 points
• The broader All Ordinaries index was down 1.3 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 6,166.0
• The SPI200 futures contract was up two points, or 0.03 per cent, at 6,022.
• National turnover was 3.9 billion securities traded worth $2.7 billion