SYDNEY, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market opened lower on Thursday with most sectors trending downwards with the exception of materials which edged higher on a lift in the price of iron ore.

At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 10.60 points or 0.16 percent at 6,742.00, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 11.00 points or 0.16 percent at 6,842.20.

A one percent jump in the Aussie dollar may be behind some of the market's sluggishness, the Aussie reached a one month high and was around 68.75 U.S. cents in early trading.

Commodity prices boosted the outperforming materials sector which saw solid gains from market heavy iron ore producers, while gold miners mostly fell.

Meanwhile, energy and consumer staples fell the furthest while the banks, tech and communication services also dived.

In the financial space, Australia's big banks sank with the Commonwealth Bank down (0.51 percent), the National Australia Bank down (0.24 percent), Westpac Bank down (0.80 percent) and ANZ down (0.73 percent).

Mining stocks were mostly higher with BHP up (0.23 percent), Rio Tinto up (0.29 percent) and Fortescue Metals up (0.48 percent), however goldminer Newcrest was down (0.49 percent).

The country's oil and gas producers were mixed with Oil Search down (0.27 percent), Santos down (0.12 percent), and Woodside Petroleum up (0.12 percent).

Australia's largest supermarkets sank with Coles down (0.72 percent), and Woolworths down (0.55 percent).

Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra dropped (0.80 percent), the national carrier Qantas lost altitude (0.41 percent) and biomedical firm CSL jumped (0.28 percent). Enditem

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