Aust stocks drop as markets lose bounce

The Australian stock market opened lower on Friday, after conflicting economic signals in the US provoked falls on Wall Street overnight.

At 10.15am AEST (12.15 NZT) the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 23.2 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 4,500.9 while the broader All Ordinaries index had fallen 21.9 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 4,514.3.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was down 20 points at 4,474 on a volume of 5,717 contracts.

Wall Street got off to a strong start following strong earnings reports from Exxon Mobil and Southwest Airlines.

But sentiment was dampened following weaker earnings reports from technology companies and news that there was only a slight drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits.

Traders were also uneasy ahead of the first reading on US gross domestic product for the April-June quarter, to be released on Friday.

The Dow fell 30.72, or 0.3 per cent, to 10,467.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.60, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,101.53. The Nasdaq composite index fell 12.87, or 0.6 per cent,to 2,251.69.

But there was some good news, as copper prices hit a three-month high.

On the local market, there were losses across the financials and materials sectors.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth was down 36 cents at A$52.65, Westpac was down 35 cents at A$23.90, NAB dropped 18 cents at A$25.15 and ANZ fell 23 cents at A$22.96.

- AAP