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Australian share market flat in the early going, trading volumes remain low

Xinhua, May 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Australian share market has opened flat on Wednesday, with very low trading volumes throughout the early market action.

At 1047 local time AEST, the S&P/ASX200 index was down 5 points, or 0.08 percent, to 5,945.4 points, while the all inclusive All Ordinaries index was also slightly down by 3 points, or 0.05 percent, to 5,968.4 points.

Wednesday morning's trading volumes have been "unimpressive" according to Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, who told Xinhua on Wednesday that local investors are "caught between a rock and a hard place" during a continued patch of lower activity in the Australian market.

"Valuations look stretched, the market is near its highs, so where else are you going to put your money? We are a 'rabbit in the headlights' as a collective market," McCarthy said.

"Across the sectors there is not really a great deal of differentiation, however, gold stocks are very much in favor this morning."

McCarthy did note a trend developing, with investors looking as though they have been pulling out of the big four banks as they announce their half yearly's, and rather, shifting that capital into some of the "smaller" banking institutions in Australia.

The banking majors had a poor start this morning, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropping 0.04 percent, Westpac fell 0.34 percent, the ANZ also dipped, down 0.93 percent, while the National Australia Bank lost 0.49 percent in value.

In mining, BHP Billiton took a dive, dropping 1.37 percent, Rio Tinto also lost ground, down 1.02 percent, Fortescue took a hit, down 0.57 percent, while Newcrest bucked the trend and posted a strong 0.81 percent gain.

The oil and gas giants posted some strong returns in the early going, with Oil Search rocketing up 1.9 percent, Santos also lifted 1.55 percent, while heavyweight Woodside Petroleum made a more modest gain, up 0.73 percent.

Grocery giant Woolworths was down 1.19 percent in early trade, while rivals Wesfarmers had a strong open, up 0.73 percent.

Biotech firm CSL did well, up 0.62 percent, telco giant Telstra fell 0.47 percent, while airline Qantas soared in the early going, up 0.92 percent. Endit