By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE, Australia--Australian shares fell to a one-month low
in a quiet start to the week as investors continued to focus on the
possible fallout from the political impasse in Washington.
Several states were closed for the Labour Day public holiday,
limiting trading volumes, and there was little local economic data
or corporate news for investors to latch on to.
"Political concern in the U.S. is continuing to demand much of
the market's attention," said Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at
Commonwealth Securities.
As the partial shutdown of the U.S. government moved into its
second week, there were few signs the two parties were any closer
to a budget deal. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Sunday
said he wouldn't bring up bills to fully reopen the government or
increase the country's borrowing limits unless Democrats agreed to
broader talks aimed at trimming the deficit.
"While Friday's modest gains in U.S. equities were driven by a
glimmer of hope that leaders are getting closer, this seems to have
waned over the weekend," said Stan Shamu, a market strategist at
IG. "This has really rattled markets and is likely to result in
further near-term weakness for global equities."
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to close at 5161.1, taking the
benchmark index further from five-year highs reached in late
September. Every sector measured by the ASX was lower, led by
mining stocks as investors prepared for China to reopen after its
week-long National Week public holiday.
BHP Billiton's shares fell 1.3% and Rio Tinto's 0.8%, while
iron-ore producer ended down 0.2%.
The country's big banks were also lower, with ANZ, Commonwealth
Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac down between 0.6% and
1.4%.
Vaccines and human-plasma products maker CSL dropped 1.4% after
saying it had agreed to settle longrunning class-action litigation
in a deal that will include a payment of US$64 million.
Bucking the broader trend, Leighton Holdings advanced 2.9% as it
recovered from last week's sharp fall.
Looking ahead, investors will be looking for further signs of a
recovery in the local economy as business and consumer confidence
data are released Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the monthly
jobs report Thursday.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com