Australian stocks let go of 5300

Australian stocks crumbled to the pressure of weak leads offshore. Wednesday’s 80 point advance was all but erased in morning trade.

Previous session’s darlings the big banks lead the sell-off. This week’s bank reporter CBA fell a staggering 2.3%. the bank continues to etch in new recent lows.

Crude’s near 5% slide overnight placed heated downward pressure on energy and material-based stocks. Origin reported on Thursday and slipped over 13% across the trading session as concerns for whether oil may breach $40 settled in.

Reporting season continues to march along and corporates continue to be scrutinized. Wesfarmers was up on the chopping block this morning with traders applauding the Supermarket Giant’s results. Reporting a fall in full year net profit of 9.3%, Wesfarmers served to be a rare green on Thursday’s trading screens.

In afternoon trade, the local index is could not hold onto the 5300-handle and dipped into 5200 zone, after having given up 90 points. The day’s trading volume has been plump with panic selling chalking up healthy turnover. The local currency has remained relatively stable across the trading day, exchanging hands in mid-0.73 ranges. Any movement on the AUD may be dependent on the outcome of US Unemployment Claims due out overnight.

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