Australian share market brought down at open on disappointing health stocks

The Australian share market opened lower on Monday.

At the open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 13.2 points, or 0.24 percent, at 5,417.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 12.8 points, or 0.23 percent, at 5,501.1.

CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said the focus on Monday's trade would be on individual sectors, especially private health stocks which had been doing badly the previous week.

"The immediate question for investors is whether these (health) stocks can hold their bounce off Friday's lows after heavy selling and a volatile session," Spooner said in a note.

"The first is whether last quarter was a statistical aberration or indicative of a lower growth trend for private hospitals."

"The second is whether Healthscope's performance will be fully reflected in the wider industry. Markets will now be attuned to any announcement from Ramsey Healthcare whose AGM (annual general meeting) is due on 9 November," he said.

In early trade, ANZ was up 0.78 percent, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.42 percent, the National Australia Bank lost 0.22 percent and Westpac gained 0.90 percent.

BHP Billiton rallied 0.83 percent, rival Rio Tinto slumped 0.02 percent while gold miner Newcrest was 2.34 percent weaker.

Oil Search tumbled 2.33 percent, Santos increased 0.52 percent while Woodside Petroleum slipped 0.91 percent.

Wesfarmers retreated 0.36 percent while rival Woolworths edged 1.53 percent higher.

Qantas sank 0.31 percent while telecommunication giant Telstra's fell 0.40 percent at Monday's early trade. Endit