The main indicator of the Australian Securities Exchange (bottom R) is seen in red shortly after the local market opened in Central Sydney October 4, 2011. Australian stocks eased 0.6 percent on Tuesday, pressured by falls in global equities markets in a
The main indicator of the Australian Securities Exchange (bottom R) is seen in red shortly after the local market opened in Central Sydney October 4, 2011. Australian stocks eased 0.6 percent on Tuesday, pressured by falls in global equities markets in a fresh flight from riskier assets, but losses were limited after steep declines on Monday. Reuters/Daniel Munoz
The main indicator of the Australian Securities Exchange (bottom R) is seen in red shortly after the local market opened in Central Sydney October 4, 2011. Australian stocks eased 0.6 percent on Tuesday, pressured by falls in global equities markets in a fresh flight from riskier assets, but losses were limited after steep declines on Monday. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz (AUSTRALIA - Tags: BUSINESS)

 Australian shares are falling for the third day with buyers remaining uninspired to enter the market. The ASX 200 index is down 0.6 per cent and is trading below the 5500 pt mark for the first time since last Thursday.

 Global markets were quiet overnight with holidays observed in the US, Canada and parts of Europe. The Dow Jones finished flat while the S&P500 edged higher by 0.1 per cent. US equities remain at their best levels on record.

 Plenty of Annual General Meetings (AGM) are being held with investors today including Fortescue Metals (FMG), Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Computershare (CPU) and rail freight operator Aurizon (AZJ).

 Macquarie Group (MQG) is slumping by 2.5 per cent or $1.56 to $60.29 due to trading ex-dividend today. MQG will pay out a $1.3 per share interim dividend on 16 December. National Bank (NAB), ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) and Westpac (WBC) have all traded ex-dividend over the past week which has put the sector under pressure.

 Myer (MYR) shares are down 6.3 per cent following sluggish sales growth of just 0.1 per cent over the past three months to $691.6 million. Cosmetics, Toys, Childrenswear and Menswear were the strongest performers. The department store owner said it is well positioned for the Christmas period.

 Dulux Group (DLX) is down 0.7 per cent despite posting a 21.4 per cent rise in annual profit to $111.9 million. Sales jumped by 8.5 per cent to $1.6 billion. The result was partly driven by sales growth in Australia and New Zealand together with margin improvements. Looking ahead the paint maker said it expects profits to rise in the 2015 financial year. A final dividend of $0.105 per share was announced.

 Wages over the September quarter have edged higher by 0.6 per cent to be 2.6 per cent higher over the year according to a report issued today. Although wage growth remains subdued, pay is still modestly outstripping inflation.

 Consumer confidence is up 1.9 per cent in November according to the results of Westpac's monthly sentiment survey.

 The Australian dollar has gained some ground against the greenback and buys US$0.868, €0.697, £0.545 and ¥100.5.

 Volume is average with 800.5m shares traded worth $2.2bn. 377 stocks are up, 422 are down and 330 are unchanged.

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