After a few hours of trade, the Australian sharemarket is down 1.2 pct or 55.7 pts to 4731.6. All sectors are trading lower, with the miners, oil and gas producers and major banks dragging the broader market significantly lower.

Commodity prices were mixed but broadly lower on Friday, off the back of a stronger US dollar. This is resulting in our largest miners and oil and gas producers having a bad start to the new trading week. BHP Billiton (BHP) is down 1.4 pct or 62 cents to $43.71 while RIO Tinto (RIO) is off by 1.11 pct or 89 cents to $79.27.

The major banks are a little lower at lunch, with 3 of the big 3 slightly weaker. Westpac (WBC) is by far the worse and is down 4.55 pct or $1.08 to $22.65 after going ex-dividend today for its 76 cent a share interim dividend. You would have had to purchase WBC shares no later than last Friday and held onto them until at least today to be eligible for the distribution scheduled to be paid on July 4.

The price of oil remains under US$100 a barrel, down around 14 pct over the month. Oil and gas producer Santos (STO) is down 1.18 pct or 17 cents to $14.20 while Australia’s second largest energy company, Woodside Petroleum (WPL) is 0.71 pct or 33 cents lower to $44.74.

NSW focused coal miner, Whitehaven Coal (WHC) is 11.04 pct or 71 cents weaker to $5.72 after rejecting a number of takeover offers from potential buyers. WHC’s shares have fallen just over 20 pct over the past 4 weeks.

Following the end of daylight savings in April this year, major Asian markets will be trading between the hours mentioned below until 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 mostly lower at midday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down 0.6 pct or 58.27 pts to 9590.5, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.77 pct or 179.44 pts to 23096.83, South Korea’s KOSPI index is 0.54 pct or 11.42 pts weaker to 2108.66 while China’s Shanghai Composite index is flat.

On the economic front in the region today, Japan will be releasing its latest household confidence reading, which is expected to be weak in addition to new machinery orders out of the world’s third largest economy. In Australia, both the number of new home loans issued in March and the number of new cars sold in April missed expectations this morning.

So far today, 1.07 billion shares have been traded worth $2.08 billion. 244 shares are up, 739 are lower and 334 are currently unchanged.

The Australian dollar currently buys US105.6 cents.

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