The Australian share market has closed lower, weighed down by the big banks as National Australia Bank traded ex-dividend.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said most sectors finished in the red on Thursday but healthcare and other defensive stocks gained ground.
“It’s really slow today with light volumes going through,” Ms Lee said.
“The banks were hit by NAB trading ex-dividend and Commonwealth Bank coming out with its first quarter update.”
She said investors were wary of a turn in the housing market which would mean lower growth and more competition for the major banks.
The Australian market also opened lower due to weak overseas leads, with Wall Street down after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the US central bank could lift interest rates in December.
Among the major banks Commonwealth Bank was 73 cents lower at $75.85 after it lifted its quarterly cash profit by four per cent to $2.4 billion.
National Australia Bank fell $1.35 to $28.56, Westpac fell 16 cents to $31.11 and ANZ dropped 22 cents to $26.65.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was down 19 cents to $23.28, Rio Tinto had fallen 70 cents to $50.15, but Fortescue Metals was flat at $2.13.
Building products group Boral fell six cents to $5.45 as it said its performance during the first quarter of the new financial year was in line with expectations.
Theme parks and family entertainment centres operator Ardent Leisure lost 39 cents to $2.48 despite reporting a rise in quarterly revenue of 19.3 per cent.
In the health care space, Ramsay Health Care gained 18 cents to $61.98 as it said it is in talks about opening hospitals in China.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 49.3 points, or 0.94 per cent, lower at 5,193.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 46.9 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 5,247.9.
* The December share price index futures contract was 51 points lower at 5,166, with 27,555 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1,109.60 per fine ounce, down $US11.40 on Wednesday’s price of $US1,121.00.
* National turnover was 2.1 billion securities worth $5.7 billion.
