The Australian sharemarket is continuing on its weak run, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.1 pct or 2.6 pts to 4757.7. Shares were down by as much as 0.4 pct this morning, however have recovered over the past hour thanks to gains from the mining and energy sectors.

The world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton (BHP) is up 0.23 pct or 10 cents to $44.22 while the iron ore focused, RIO Tinto (RIO) is up 0.56 pct or 45 cents to $81.15.

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Australia’s second largest oil and gas producer behind only BHP, Woodside Petroleum (WPL) is up 0.33 pct or 15 cents to $46.10. Santos (STO) is up 0.63 pct or 10 cents to $14.42.

The financial sector is putting downward pressure on the broader market with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials index 0.49 pct or 20.8 pts lower to 4328.6. Westpac (WBC) is the worst, down 1.08 pct or 24 cents to $21.90, National Australia Bank (NAB) is down 0.87 pct or 23 cents to $26.14, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is 0.98 pct or 50 cents weaker to $50.47 while ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) is 0.41 pct or 9 cents lower to $21.90.

The telecommunications sector is slightly stronger thanks to a 2.2 pct or 4 cent rise in Telecom Corporation’s shares (TEL). This comes after the New Zealand based telco announced a new commercial agreement with Sky that will allow the company to sell all of Sky’s television services to its customers.

Following the end of daylight savings in April this year, major Asian markets will be trading between the hours mentioned below until mid October.

The Hong Kong sharemarket trades in two sessions each day and will now be opening for trade between 11.30am (AEST) and 2pm (AEST) and then between 3.30pm (AEST) and 6pm (AEST) in its second session.

Out of Japan, the first session will be between 10am (AEST) and 12pm (AEST), while the second session is between 1.30pm (AEST) and 4pm (AEST).

The Singapore exchange will be open for trade between 11am (AEST) and 2.30pm (AEST) for the first session and then between 4pm (AEST) and 7pm (AEST) in its second session.

Sharemarkets in the Asian region are mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down 0.23 pct or 22.1 pts to 9499.84, South Korea’s KOSPI index down 0.34 pct or 7.24 pts to 2093 and China’s Shanghai Composite index down 0.22 pct or 6.06 pts to 2703.55. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is flat while shares in the Philippines are slightly stronger.

There is no major economic data scheduled for release in Asia today, however the latest petrol prices, Australian business indicators and April’s new home sales are all released.

The best performing stock at lunch is Geopacific Resources (GPR), which is up 25 pct or 5 cents to 25 cents. GPR is a mineral exploration company focused on gold and copper projects in Fiji.

So far today, 825 million shares have been traded worth $1.2 billion. 440 shares are up, 468 are lower and 380 are currently unchanged. It seems likely that volume and value will remain week today with both the U.K and U.S sharemarket closed due to public holidays.

The Australian dollar is stronger and buys US106.9 cents.

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