Aussie shares open lower despite positive overnight trading

SYDNEY, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australian stock market opened lower on Thursday, despite the positive leads from major shares in overnight trading.

At 10:15 (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 32.6 points or 0.55 percent at 5,844.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index was lower 30.2 points or 0.5 percent at 5,951.3.

CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy told Xinhua it was a "disappointing result for Australian investors at the open today", with a seeming focus on resource stocks and falling commodity prices hurting both the materials and energy sectors.

"And the fall comes today at an unusual time, because the volatility index is also falling. Usually when the share market is falling, we tend to see a lift in volatility but we're seeing the opposite today. So it's an unusual trading day."

Trading in major lender National Australia Bank, mining giant Rio Tinto and energy major AGL Energy will be closely watched, following the latest release of their profit results, he said.

The bank was up 0.74 percent in early trading following a cash earnings dip reported for the first quarter, while the other big banks also opened higher. ANZ added 0.43 percent, Commonwealth Bank gained 0.21 percent and Westpac edged up 0.03 percent.

Rio Tinto fell 2.09 percent after recording a rise in its annual profit and other mining giant BHP was down 1.51 percent. Newcrest Mining lost 2.33 percent. AGL lost 1.02 percent after posting high half-year profit results. Oil and gas major Santos fell 1.99 percent and Oil Search slipped 0.66 percent. Woodside Petroleum was down 1.2 percent. Wesfarmers added 0.24 percent and rival supermarket chain Woolworths slipped 0.15 percent.

National carrier Qantas was down 0.96 percent, telco Telstra added 1 percent and biomed group CSL lost 1.03 percent. Enditem