THE Australian market has opened flat as gains for defensive stock offset losses for Westpac and Macquarie banks.
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said Westpac and Macquarie were dragging down the market as both went ex-dividend.
"It's a bit of a weak start, which was expected as commodity prices were a little bit mixed over the weekend and Westpac and Macquarie going ex-dividend was always going to hurt us," he said.
Westpac dived $1.051 to $31.80 while Macquarie tumbled 79 cents to $45.18.
The other banks opened mixed.
ANZ was flat at $30.13, National Australia Bank jumped 30 cents to $32.77 and Commonwealth Bank gained 51 cents to $71.08.
Defensive stocks such as Wesfarmers and Woolworths opened in positive territory.
Wesfarmers was up six cents to $42.39 and at 1038 Woolworths was up 26 cents to $34.96.
The mining giants opened lower.
BHP Billiton fell 27 cents to $34.48, Rio Tinto declined 47 cents to $57.98 and Fortescue lost 5.5 cents to $3.855.
By 1052 AEST, Dulux Group shares had jumped four cents to $4.52 after it said first half profit dropped 31 per cent because of costs from its takeover of building products and garage door supplier Alesco.
Explosives and fertiliser maker Incitec Pivot shares had gained six cents to $2.89 after the company said its first half profit had fallen 23 per cent with its fertiliser operations hit by the high Australian dollar.
In economic news, the Australia Bureau of Statistics is due to release March housing finance figures, while the National Australia Bank's monthly business survey is due out on Monday.
On Wall Street on Friday, stocks overcame a choppy day of trading and closed at fresh all-time highs as Group of Seven finance chiefs met in Britain to discuss economic challenges.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.87 (0.24 per cent) to 15,118.49, a new all-time closing high.
KEY FACTS
* At 1021 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 1.9 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 5,208 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was 2.6 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 5,193.7 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was five points higher at 5,212 with 7,230 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 207.79 million securities worth $884.29 million.
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