SYDNEY, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian stock market opened flat on Thursday on the back of overnight falls in iron ore prices and the latest signs of possible weakness in the U.S. dollar.
At 10:20 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 2.5 points or 0.04 percent at 5,679, while the broader All Ordinaries index slipped 0.6 points or 0.01 percent at 5,840.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner told Xinhua the slide in the spot iron ore price could lead to ongoing nervousness as far as the major iron ore stocks are concerned.
Another factor for the market included the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC monetary policy meeting in September, that suggested "the possibility that if inflation doesn't pick up, we'll see U.S. interest rates rise more slowly and to a lower neutral rate than current predictions," implying weakness in the greenback.
Australian mining giant BHP Billiton was down 1.39 percent in early morning trade, while Fortescue Metals slipped 1.01 percent and Newcrest Mining fell 1.45 percent.
Oil and gas producer Santos was up 1.11 percent while Oil Search edged 0.7 percent lower.
Bank stocks were mixed in early trading, with ANZ edging 0.1 percent higher and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 0.14 percent lower. The National Australia Bank was up 0.24 percent while Westpac rose 0.15 percent.
Supermarket chain Wesfarmers was up 0.51 percent, while rival Woolworths dipped 0.3 percent.
Qantas rose 0.4 percent and telecom giant Telstra edged up 0.14 percent.
