Weakness in the resources sector is weighing on the share market, but Medibank Private has made a solid debut.
Health insurer Medibank Private, which listed at $2.00 per share, opened at $2.22, and was at $2.20 on a volume of 117 million by 1207 AEDT.
Lonsec senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said Medibank’s opening price may please retail investors looking to make a quick profit.
“It (Medibank Private) is not far off what people had anticipated, but it’s probably a bit lower than what I would have thought given the excessive demand for the stock,” he said.
However, the general market was trading lower.
Resources stocks lost ground in the wake of lower energy and metals prices, after rallying on Monday on the back of the People’s Bank of China’s unexpected interest rate cuts.
“You have your odd days of sunshine like yesterday and then you get on the old treadmill in the opposite direction,” Mr Heffernan said.
At 1214 AEDT, global miner BHP Billiton was 69 cents lower at $32.21, Rio Tinto had lost $1.05 at $57.25, and Fortescue Metals had slumped 17 cents, or 5.7 per cent, to $2.81.
Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum was down 15 cents at $39.31, and Santos had fallen 63 cents to $11.82.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank had shed 46 cents to $79.96, National Australia Bank had reversed 18.5 cents to $32.215, Westpac had dumped 17 cents at $32.33, but ANZ had nudged up one cent to $31.88.
Among other stocks, retailer Harvey Norman had backtracked 6.5 cents to $3.645 after announcing a $120.7 million capital raising.
Transport and logistics group Toll Holdings had firmed 1.5 cents to $5.445 after saying it expects to reap more than $100 million from selling a string of assets in Asia and Australia.
Poker machines supplier Aristocrat had given away seven cents to $6.53 after announcing a $16 million net loss.
KEY FACTS
* At 1220 AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 41.1 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 5,320.7 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was also down 41.1 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 5,307.9 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was 23 points lower at 5,331 points, with 18,104 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 687.3 million securities worth 1.85 billion.
