Big falls on Wall Street yesterday set the tone for a dismal day's trading on the Australian Stock Exchange. The All Ordinaries index spent the day firmly in negative territory and closed eight points lower at 3,281. The banks were also down.
Brokers say investors are more concerned about the prospect of more bad debts.
The resources sector was mixed. BHP's steel offshoot OneSteel plunged by more than 5 per cent, closing 5 cents weaker at 94 cents after warning of deteriorating trading conditions in the March quarter. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up in late trade. Described by UN officials as a 'living graveyard', more than 70,000 Afghani refugees huddle in this squalid tent city in Pakistan. After months of wrangling authorities have delivered the first food shipment.