ASX opens flat in mixed start for banks

The Australian share market has opened flat after a negative lead from overseas at the end of last week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 3.2 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 6,719.3 points at 1015 AEST on Monday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 4.3 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6,828.4 points.

Utilities shares led gains in the first 15 minutes of trade, adding 0.49 per cent.

Mining giant BHP was up 0.35 per cent to $36.97, Rio Tinto was up 0.32 per cent to $91.89 and Fortescue Metals was up 0.62 per cent to $8.875.

The big four banks – ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac – were mixed, ranging from a fall of 0.33 per cent to a 0.17 per cent rise.

On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.26 per cent, the S&P 500 was down 0.53 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 1.13 per cent.

The Aussie dollar is buying 67.64 US cents, from 67.61 US cents on Friday.

AAP