Stock market shares hit the lowest figure this August. Shares are lower by one percent this afternoon.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 47.9 points, or 1.08 percent, at 4381.1. The All Ordinaries was down at 42.3 points (0.93 percent) to 4418.2.

September share price index contract on the Sydney Futures Exchange was down 45 points at 4366 on 14,462 contracts.

Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said, “I think you'd say (it's been) a bit of a disappointment today, given the reasonably robust performance after the election.”

Hefferman described election uncertainty as “a lead weight around the neck” of some major stocks.

The mining stocks were also down this morning. BHP Billiton fell 53 cents (1.4 percent) to $37.58 and Rio Tinto was down 86 cents (1.2 percent) to $71.34. The Fortescue Metals Group fell 12 cents (2.6 percent) to $4.52.

The downward trend extends to shares in the mining sector. Foster's Group shares were down 27 cents (4.3 percent) at $5.99 after it posted an annual net loss of $464 million.

The same trend in Australian shares seems to be having company in Japan's Nikkei index. The index fell below 9000 for the first time since May 2009.