The Australian share market is lower at noon, despite gains by the big miners, with falls across all other sectors.
At 1200 AEST, all big four banks were down, while biotech giant CSL remained above the $100-a-share milestone reached in the previous session despite falling 39 cents.
The retail sector also failed to build on momentum gained on the back of Tuesday’s better than expected retail trade figures.
But the big miners were defied the trend, with BHP Billiton up 39 cents to $26.29, Rio Tinto gaining 59 cents to $52.61 and Fortescue Metals up 1.65 cents to $1.94.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1200 AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 41.1 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 5,656.8.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 37.8 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 5,644.1.
* The September share price index futures contract was down 44 points at 5,595, with 16,461 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 850 million securities worth $1.9 billion.
