The share market has fallen as gains by miners were more than outweighed by falls in all other sectors.
Buoyed by a jump in the China port iron ore price to $US55 per tonne, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals all enjoyed gains, making the materials sector the only winner in a lacklustre market.
“Markets closed on a sombre note,” optionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said.
“The only highlight is in the materials space, with all other sectors returning losses in a disappointing day.”
Falls by the major banks were particularly discouraging.
“The banks had been the only source of hope this morning, but they’ve been in reverse all day, putting paid to any positivity,” Mr Le Brun said.
Commonwealth Bank dropped 66 cents to $87.37, National Australia Bank lost 22 cents to $34.34, ANZ shed 20 cents to $32.58 and Westpac gave back 28 cents to $34.49.
BHP Billiton gained 59 cents to $26.49, Rio Tinto added 96 cents to $52.98 and Fortescue Metals soared, rising 11 cents to $1.88, on new reports of Chinese interest in its assets.
Energy stocks lost ground, led by Origin Energy which shed 40 cents to $10.61, while Telstra dropped seven cents to $6.43.
Investor speculation could continue to the slow market, with earnings season still in early days and jobs figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics arriving Thursday.
KEY FACTS:
*The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 23.9 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 5,674 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index shed 22.4 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 5,659 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was down 30 points at 5609 points, with 27,531 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,087.68 per fine ounce, down 49 cents on Tuesday’s price of $US1,088.17.
* National turnover was 2.1 billion securities worth $5.2 billion.
