Australian share market edges down at opening

The Australian share market opened lower on Monday.

At the official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index lost 34.7 points, or 0.63 percent, to 5,457.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 32.8 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,445.3.

The materials sector declined 1.09 percent, with BHP losing 0. 96 percent while Rio Tinto gave up 1.09 percent.

Financials lost 0.64 percent. ANZ fell 0.96 percent, Commonwealth Bank 0.73 percent, the National Australia Bank lost 0. 82 percent and Westpac 0.69 percent.

Energy stocks declined 0.62 percent. Santos lost 1.05 percent and Woodside Petroleum edged 0.3 percent lower. Oil Search was down 2.14 percent.

Consumer staples were 0.54 percent lower, with Wesfarmers down 0.6 percent and Wooolworths declining 0.33 percent.

Telstra slipped 0.72 percent while Qantas grew 0.6 percent.