The Australian share market has closed lower for the third straight day as investors continued profit taking.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said losses had accelerated over the day as investors reacted to a speech by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
“We’re seeing every sector in the red today,” Ms Lee said.
“The selling is across the whole market.”
In a speech to the National Economists Club in the US, Dr Bernanke said the US economy remained far from where the Fed wanted to see it and that the US central bank was still committed to its economic stimulus policies.
Dr Bernanke gave no indication of when the Fed might start reducing its $US85 billion ($A90.39 billion) a month asset purchasing program.
Ms Lee said the energy sector led widespread losses following a profit warning from engineering and consulting firm WorleyParsons.
Shares in WorleyParsons dived more than 26 per cent to $16.00 on the news.
Energy stocks suffered, with Woodside Petroleum falling one per cent to $38.11 and Santos down 1.7 per cent to $14.26.
A buoyant iron ore price was not enough to stem falls among the big miners.
Global miner BHP Billiton shed 35 cents to $37.55, Rio Tinto surrendered 43 cents to $64.73, and Fortescue Metals was nine cents weaker at $5.79.
Among the major banks, Westpac dipped 12 cents to $32.42, ANZ lost 36 cents to $31.56, Commonwealth Bank fell 48 cents to $76.72, and National Australia Bank retreated 27 cents to $33.80.
Outdoor clothing and equipment company Kathmandu eased 2.7 cents to $3.31 despite reporting that sales were up, in line with expectations.
Department store chain Myer was steady at $2.84 after it said it was cautious about the year ahead as it faced increased costs and a challenging economic and consumer environment.
Meanwhile oil explorer and producer Drillsearch firmed six cents to $1.30 after it said production and revenue so far in the current financial year were already higher than they were for the whole of the previous year.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 45.2 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 5,307.7.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 43.2 points, or 0.81 per cent, at 5,304.6.
* The December share price index futures contract was 48 points lower at 5,320 with 29,884 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.4 billion securities worth $3.6 billion.
