The Australian market dipped below the key 5,000 point at close, reversing all the gains from previous session. The big banks weighed most heavily on the market, amid growing concerns over their bad debts; while retail giants Woolworths and Wesfarmers suffered hefty losses, both down 3.3 per cent. All the sectors performed negatively, with utilities being the biggest laggard. The Australian dollar fell against the greenback but experienced mixed results against other major currencies.

Asian shares were mostly lower in volatile trading after disappointing data from Japan but more upbeat numbers from China. Britain's top equity index has fallen, dipping at the start of the second quarter of 2016 as weak oil prices weighed on the shares of major energy companies. US stocks pared early losses to end higher after a solid jobs report, better-than-expected manufacturing data and a fall in oil prices.

The Australian market looks set to open in positive territory with the SPI Futures up 23 points after upbeat US jobs and factory data raised hope of stronger corporate earnings and pushed Wall Street higher. In local economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release February's retail trade and building approvals figures, as is the March ANZ job advertisements series.

Crowe Horwath Australasia Ltd. issued this content on 04 April 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 04 April 2016 04:22:34 UTC

Original Document: http://www.crowehorwath.net/AU/news/daily-market-summary.aspx