Weak data, major stocks going ex-dividend do little to lift share market
Weak data and some major stocks going ex-dividend has done little to lift the share market.
The All Ordinaries ended 0.5 per cent lower at 5,871 and the ASX 200 matched that fall to 5,902.
Resource stocks did most of the damage today.
Rio Tinto closed 3.7 per cent lower as it traded without rights to its dividend, while Fortescue suffered a big sell-off, retreating 5.4 per cent.
BHP and Newcrest were practically unchanged in comparison, down 0.7 and 0.9 per cent respectively.
Profit-taking crept into the market which hurt the banks as Westpac, which hit a record high earlier this week, saw the biggest fall, down 0.9 per cent.
Telstra lost almost 1 per cent.
The flood of data continued today with fourth-quarter growth figures matching forecasts.
Bureau of Statistics figures showed the annual rate of growth slowed from 2.7 to 2.5 per cent in the December quarter.
Growth was supported by mining exports and a surprise pick-up in consumer spending, although that was not expected to last, with wages remaining weak.
Most economists believe the Reserve Bank will cut the cash rate again next month.
The Australian dollar rose sharply following the release of the data, buying 78.2 US cents just after 5:00pm (AEDT).
On commodity markets, West Texas crude rose to $US50.38 a barrel, while spot gold continued to lose ground at $US1,207 an ounce.
