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MELBOURNE - Australian stocks ended lower today as US jitters flowed through to the local bourse, but stronger commodity prices kept the losses in check.
At the 1615 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 31.4 points to 6390.4, while the All Ordinaries had lost 28.9 points to 6427.8.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was down 41 points to 6384 on a volume of 18,147 contracts.
"Today has been a good buying opportunity," Bell Potter analyst Stuart Smith said.
"It has been (losses) across to the board really, hasn't it.
"I'm going to suggest that it's still reporting season in the States and we'll get a turn up tonight and we'll end higher at the end of the week."
Mr Smith said the US market had been spooked by the fallout in subprime lending.
"We haven't seen the end of that yet," he said.
"There will be more money written off, I'm sure.
"But that was tempered this morning by the rise across the board in commodity prices - we haven't done too badly today."
Losses were limited in the heavyweight resources sector, with BHP Billiton shedding 12 cents to A$38.28, while rival miner Rio Tinto was steady at A$99.90.
At 1618 AEST the price of gold in Sydney was US$6.55 stronger at US$683.20 per fine ounce.
Gold miner Lihir managed to add three cents to A$3.20, but fellow miner Newcrest lost 11 cents to A$24.48.
Banks were mostly lower, NAB dropping 44 cents to A$40.38, Commonwealth 35 cents softer at A$56.55, ANZ 17 cents worse at A$29.39, but Westpac was steady at A$26.70.
Macquarie Airports, majority owner of Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Ltd, added 16 cents to A$4.26 after the operator of Sydney Airport posted a 11.6 per cent lift in full-year earnings, reflecting improved yields across its commercial operations and increased passenger traffic through the transport hub.
Wall Street gave the Australian market a weak lead, after the US market ended lower on Friday to end a three-week run of gains among the major indices, with the weaker sentiment attributed to concerns surrounding the American subprime mortgage market.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 149.33 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 3,851.08, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 18.98 points or 1.22 per cent to 1,534.10, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 32.44 points or 1.19 per cent to 2,687.60.
Australia's biggest retailer, Woolworths, dipped 20 cents to A$27.60, peer Coles shed three cents to A$15.14 and smaller operator David Jones slumped nine cents to A$5.53.
A consortium of private investors including the Smorgon family and The Selpam Group have snapped up a 16.6 per cent stake in unlisted mobile phone retailing business, Crazy John's.
Telecommunications giant Telstra climbed one cent to A$4.77, while national carrier Qantas dropped by the same amount to A$5.78.
Media interests also struggled, with PBL relinquishing seven cents to A$19.40, Fairfax backtracking two cents to A$4.91, News Corp tumbling 22 cents to A$27.72 and its non-voting stock giving back 15 cents to A$25.74.
The most traded stock of the day by volume was Admiralty Resources NL, a light metals, iron ore and base metals explorer, with 54.34 million shares worth A$27.36 million changing hands.
Its shares ended 18.5 cents higher at 58.5 cents after it gave an update on its lithium and potash reserve estimate for its Rincon Salar project in northern Argentina.
Preliminary market turnover was 1.7 billion shares, worth a combined A$4.77 billion, with 566 companies ending higher, 709 lower and 355 unchanged.
AAP