The Australian stock market opened lower after US markets fell as a result of the continuing impasse on lifting the US limit on borrowing money.
At 1031 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 12 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 4,561.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index had dropped 13 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 4,633.3.
On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was down 10 points at 4,532 points, on volume of 8,366 contracts.
CMC Markets market analyst Ben Le Brun said the local market had fallen on the back of the drop on Wall Street, led by materials and resources stocks.
"There's concern about the (US) debt ceiling and there seems to be no glimmer of a definitive resolution by the August 2 deadline," Mr Le Brun said.
He said investors were hoping for an eleventh-hour resolution to the matter but there was concern that something might go amiss.
Mr Le Brun also said the high Australian dollar was putting pressure on industrtial stocks.
On the company front, Gloucester Coal was one cent higher at $9.43 as it increased its fourth quarter sales by 16 per cent from a year earlier.
Perth-based miner Mirabela Nickel eased six cents to $2.06 as it boosted nickel production at its flagship Brazilian mine by 20 per cent during the three months to June 30. However, cash costs rose by 13 per cent.
Developer Australand Property Group was steady at $2.66 as its net profit rose 17 per cent in the first half to $84.78 million, with the group remaining "cautious" but "well-placed" to deliver on its guidance.
On Wall Street on Tuesday, stocks fell as the White House said it would object to a Republican plan in the House of Representatives that calls for raising the US debt limit by $US1 trillion ($A925 billion).
The plan would require the debt issue to be voted on again next year, something US President Barack Obama does not want.
If an agreement is not reached by August 2, the US won't have enough cash to pay all its bills and could default on its debt.
Analysts say a US default would have a devastating effect on financial markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91.50 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 12,501.30 points.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.49 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,331.94 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.84 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,839.96 points.
