Australian share market opens lower | Business Breaking News | News.com.au

Tinto was down 85 cents, or 1.27 per cent, at $65.95. BHP Billiton says first quarter iron ore output rose to a record but warned it did not expect to resume full production of copper and uranium at its Olympic Dam project in South Australia until the third quarter of 2009/10, following damage to a haulage system. Local banks were mainly lower. NAB was down 13 cents at $31.17, Westpac down two cents at $26.46, and Commonwealth Bank down 47 cents to $54.43. Macquarie Group was 83 cents, or 1.52 per cent, lower at $53.72. But ANZ Banking Group went against the trend, gaining eight cents to $23.87. Wall Street closed lower overnight on disappointing housing data, which came out weaker than expected. The selloff on US equity markets was despite some encouraging corporate earnings results. US housing starts rose by 0.5 per cent to 590,000 in September, lower than market expectations of a 610,000 increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50.71 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 10,041.48. On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was 16 points lower at 4829, on a volume of 4,660 contracts.