By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian shares moved lower in choppy trade Monday morning, as weakness among miners outweighed strength in financials. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1% to 4,559.5 in early trading, with Alumina Ltd. (AU:AWC 1.59, -0.04, -2.15%) (AWCMF 1.43, -0.04, -2.96%) (AWC 5.74, -0.32, -5.29%) down 1.9%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO 70.57, -1.37, -1.90%) (RTP 203.45, -2.95, -1.43%) falling 1.8%, giving back a little of last week's strong gains as the market waited for news on iron-ore price negotiations. Banks were somewhat stronger, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU:CBA 51.58, -0.72, -1.38%) (CBAUF 45.50, +0.50, +1.11%) up 1.2% and Westpac Banking Corp. (AU:WBC 23.30, +0.10, +0.43%) (WEBNF 19.85, -0.30, -1.49%) higher by 1%. |
