Australian sharemarket falls ahead of Greek vote on austerity package THE Australian sharemarket fell more than 1 per cent as investors awaited a Greek parliamentary vote on measures to cut high debt levels. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 46.3 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 4461.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 51.2 points (1.12 per cent) to 4513.80. RBS Morgans private client adviser Bill Chatterton said Australian shares fell in line with a weaker performance on Wall Street on Friday. It was on the uncertainty surrounding Greece, initially. "Second, it was due to indecision at the top level in America as to what to do with QE3 (potentially the next phase of quantitative easing) and questions over whether the two main parties would be able to come to an agreement," Mr Chatterton said. The Greek parliament is set to vote this week on a package of deep austerity cuts designed to prevent a destabilising default by that country on its sovereign debt, which could threaten the stability of the entire euro zone. The $US40 billion ($38.09b) package of cuts is deeply unpopular but has been demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund as a precondition for their further support. The Australian financial sector lost ground, with ANZ and Commonwealth Bank suffering the biggest losses among the major banks. ANZ shares shed 23 cents (1.07 per cent) at $21.24 and Commonwealth Bank lost 68c (1.33 per cent) at $50.45. Westpac was down 8c (0.37 per cent) at $21.29 and National Australia Bank fell 16c (0.65 per cent) at $24.50. In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 14c lower at $42.20 and Rio Tinto descended 60c to $79.80. FerrAus was up 15c (23.44 per cent) at 79c after it recommended shareholders accept a takeover offer from fellow Pilbara-focused iron ore miner Atlas Iron, which could put an end to a hostile bid from Hong Kong investment company Wah Nam. Leighton shares fell 65c (3.11 per cent) to $20.24. Centro Retail was the most traded stock by volume, with 117 million shares changing hands for $38.76m. The Federal Court today found that eight current and former directors of the shopping-centre owner had breached their corporate duties by approving documents that failed to properly disclose about $2bn in liabilities. Preliminary national turnover showed 2.31bn shares traded for $4.25bn, with 236 up, 1,032 down and 351 unchanged.