Australian stocks down at close

The Australian sharemarket closed the day lower despite a private report showing an increase in job ads in August. Some analysts attributed the market's fall to the drop in China imports from major trading partners during August, including from Australia. At the 4.15pm (AEST) official market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 21.7 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 5,577, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 20 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 5,578.9. CMC Markets analyst Michael McCarthy said there was no detectable investor theme at the moment, but there were signs of investor nervousness, as volatility had lifted. He said despite the slumping iron ore price, there was renewed interest in resources stocks. ‘The market is about the future, not the present. We’ve seen such a significant fall [in the iron ore price], there are some perceptions that we might be about to see the bottom.’ Consumer staples were up slightly, lifting 0.17 per cent as a sector, according to theaustralian.com