The Australian share market opened lower on Wednesday. At 10:10 a.m. local time (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 28 points, or 0.54 percent, at 5,175.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 27.8 points, or 0.53 percent, at 5, 254.4.
IG market analyst Angus Nicholson said in a note on Wednesday it would be a difficult day for the materials and energy sectors. "Rio Tinto has announced that they will buy back 1.7 billion Australian dollars (1.24 billion U.S. dollars) of their 2018 debt, improving their leverage ratio, which should improve investor sentiment on the stock," Nicholson said. "But overnight developments in iron ore and China may prove bigger concerns for trading today."
At the open, ANZ was down 1.51 percent, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 1.3 percent, the National Australia Bank was down 1.36 percent, and Westpac lost 1.32 percent. Rio Tinto opened 2.51 percent lower, while BHP Billiton was down 3.93 percent. Woodside was down 0.48 percent.
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