Shares fall nearly 2% on Greece woes, political turmoil continues

The Australian sharemarket has fallen 1.8% this morning to a two-month low after another shocking night on offshore markets, as the prospect of political uncertainty in Greece has caused more fears over the country’s economic future.

Fresh elections are to be held next month as elected parties could not reach an agreement overnight.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 79 points or 1.8% to 4187.3 at 12.00 AEST, while, the dollar held its own at $US0.99c.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63.4 points or 0.5% to 12,632.

The Australian dollar also fell slightly after talks between Greek political parties failed, leading to fresh elections next month.

The main political parties have been attempting to form a government after last week’s elections. However, factions are at war over austerity measures required to receive bailout funds.

Socialist party leader Evangelos Venizelos announced overnight that talks between the parties had failed.

This article first appeared on SmartCompany.