THE share market was weaker at noon with property trusts dragged sharply lower by GPT's profit downgrade and weaker global stock markets.
At 12 noon AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index lost 85.1 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 4997 while the broader All Ordinaries decreased 83.4 points to 5086.6.
The September share price index futures contract was down 72 points to 5002 on a total volume of 6658 contracts.
Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said there was a war of attrition taking place in the local market.
"Every second day we seem to be going one step forward and two steps back," Mr Heffernan said.
"Today, the GPT profit downgrade had a flow on affect to the banking sector and we see the banking sector down heavily.
"We didn't have a lead from the US market as it was closed on Friday for the Independence Day public holiday and the European market was pretty wishy-washy, so there was no positive lead coming from anywhere."
Mr Heffernan said resources also had one of the biggest loses today but he expected the market to pick up later in the afternoon.
BHP Billiton fell 79 cents to $39.91 and takeover target Rio Tinto lost $2.68 to $123.02.
Property trust GPT Group cut full-year operating income guidance by 27 per cent as the credit crisis forced the company to put off asset sales, sending the shares to a 24-year low. Shares in GPT fell 38 cents, or 15.45 per cent, to $2.08.
As a result property equities were all lower. At 12.32am AEST Stockland shares fell 32 cents or 5.8 per cent to $5.20, Valad Property Group fell three cents to to 61 cents, Lend Lease Corp dropped 58 cents to 5.8 per cent to $9.42 and Mirvac Group fell 10 cents to $2.75.
The bank sector was also dragged down. Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell $1.08 cents to $41.25, National Australia Bank decreased 56 cents to $26.98 and ANZ lost 55 cent to $18.97.
Westpac lost 45 cents to $19.85 and the nation's fifth largest bank, St George was down 61 cents to $26.16.
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