Small fall for shares in subdued trade
The share market has closed slightly lower as gains by iron ore miners were outweighed by falls by most banks and retailers.
Trading volumes were low due to a lack of new economic data, and investors are waiting for the release of several major reports from around the world due later in the week, IG market strategist Evan Lucas said.
"There's not a lot of things to think about and do, so you'll probably see a lot of investors sitting on their hands," he said.
Iron ore miners posted gains, reflecting a slight rise in iron ore prices, but Mr Lucas said it was an interesting trend given prices are still at historic lows, and miners have been increasing their production.
Fortescue Metals added 17 cents to $4.75, while BHP Billiton gained 10 cents to $39.10 and Rio Tinto was 27 cents higher at $65.36.
BC Iron rose two cents to $3.27 after flagging a rise in its full year earnings, despite the slide in iron ore prices.
In the other major sector, three of the big four banks fell by between 0.3 and 0.7 per cent.
National Australia Bank bucked the trend, adding 10 cents to $34.69 after it sold a slice of its troubled British commercial real estate loans portfolio.
Woolworths lost 12 cents to $35.88 and Coles owner Wesfarmers shed seven cents to $43.21, while Telstra closed two cents lower at $5.43.
Construction giant Leighton dropped 55 cents to $22.10 after suffering a 20 percent slide in half year profit.
KEY FACTS
On Monday at 1615 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 6.1 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 5,577.4 points, according to preliminary data.
The broader All Ordinaries index was down 4.3 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,569.9 points.
The September share price index futures contract was one point lower at 5,529 points, with 19,773 contracts traded.
National turnover was 1.9 billion shares worth $3.7 billion.
